Gerlie's Binakol Nga Bisaya Nga Manok

I wanted to cook Tinola as my last entry for the National Heroes Day Cookfest but we had it last week and I was not abe to snap a photo of it as I planned to do another recipe. Anyway, I wanted Tinola for my last entry because it was mentioned in Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and the neck and wing parts were given to Fr. Damaso who was insulted but the soup was especially prepared for Ibarra who just came back from abroad and not for him. (By the way, I can't help but mention that I love the neck and wing part mainly because of the foodie wisdom that says, "the nearest to the bone, the sweetest is the meat." This, Fr. Damaso has no clue).  

And so, I had my favorite dish, Binakol. I checked on the web the entries on binakol and I was surprised that most entries would introduce binakol as Tinola but uses coconut water and coco meat. Okay, I was not pleasantly surprised (I'm a bit horrified, I admit) because the binakol I grew to love while I was in Iloilo City is a plain and simple native chicken with cocowater, ginger and lemongrass in the broth.

We used to eat at this reaturant called Buto't Balat in their branches in Jaro, Molo and Iloilo City proper (They had a stint in Bacolod City too) which served binakol and they had this native chicken option which I was very fond of. They served their Binakol in the buko shell which gives a rustic feel to the table. And they cooked it the way I cooked mine now. I just love mine as pure coco water as far as possible.

Most of the entries in the web also say that Binakol orignated in Aklan, a province in Panay. So, I enlisted my friends to say somethig about the Binakol. From what I gathered from them, 1) traditional Binakol is chicken cooked in bamboo, just that with some spices 2) Binakol is chicken cooked in buko juice with coco meat 3) definitely, no green papayas in Binakol because if does, it is tinola.  

Here are the response I got:
Gin sulod lang sa buko ang chicken & spices. then ginluto upod ang buko...damo na di gaubra sa aklan. bale pinakasabaw nya ang buko juice

Ang binakol ya diri is manok nga ginbutangan sang mga dahon2 (usually tanglad,pro may ara pa gd nga nalipat ko sng name) kg gnluto sa sulod sng kawayan. Lain man na ya ang lina-ga sa tubig sng niyog (pro binakol man gyapon tawag nla).

Hi Gerlie. Traditionally wala buko ang binakol nga manok. Wala man na gata. Unless hinubarang manok sya. Variation na sya ang may buko. But traditionally indi Aklanon nga variation

Well there is still no Binakol Festival in Aklan. And even my akeanon friends are split as to whether the buko broth is originally from them. But we all agreed that when one puts chicken and green papaya together, it is definitely a tinola.

To be clear, I love Tinola nga Bisaya nga Manok, it has its own merits but to put it together with the elements of Binakol, it loses its own identity and robs Binakol of its own merits. I just want my Binacol as chicken in coconut water broth with coco meat. And if I have to add something from Tinaola to my Binakol, I think it would be the sili leaves, that's it. 

Moreover, I want to use native chicken when cooking chicken soup, be it tinola or binakol, because of its meaty taste that comes out in the broth. It's like earth meets water and the result is heavenly. If native chicken is used, one does not have to sautee which I think should be done with 45 days chicken.    

Here is Gerlie's Binakol Recipe:

Binakol nga Manok nga Bisaya

1 native chicken, cut to serving size
2 cups water
4 Buko Coconuts
250g ginger peeled
2 medium red onions
6 cloves of garlic
A knot of Lemongrass
Chili pepper (optional)

Chili leaves (optional)
Salt

In a pot, place all cut native chicken and add water. Bring to boil. 
Halve all coconuts and save all water of coconut. Add to the boiling chicken. Add the spices except salt. Let boil until chicken is tender.
Shred the coconut buko meat using shredder or spoon. Add to the soup. Let boil again. Taste and adjust with salt. Add water if the soup is too coco sweet for your liking.