Foot and Fire

Let food be your medicine.  And I bet this soup is one example of a food that really heals. I have been avoiding commercial dressed chicken from the market, the then 45 days had been reduced to 22 days. That number refers to chicken's lifespan from hatchling to being ready for dressing. I only eat such chicken whenever I can't avoid it or simply miss it. So, it is always a joy to find a backyard raised native chicken. Given the convergence of the native chicken, the mongo and the ginger and the lemongrass, the broth is aromatic and tasty. 700g native chicken 2 thumb-sized ginger 150g mongo (mung beans) 200 g ubad (banana pith or core stem) Olive oil 3 cloves of Garlic 1 medium onion Water Lemongrass, tied Nutritional yeast Salt Fish sauce Soak mongo overnight. Drain and let boil until tender and can be mashed. Set aside. Boil chicken pieces and ginger covered with water for 25 minutes, just until fork tender. Set aside. Halve the banana pith or core stem and slice t...

      I mentioned in my past blog that I wanted to cook Tinola for the Jose Rizal tribute but cooked binakol instead.Much to my dismay, I learned that I have no entry on tinola nga manok in my blog when I searched for it. The irony is that my family loves tinola and it's a staple to our survival and happiness and it's an anomaly why I got no blog post about it. So, it's about time to post one. We love native chicken as it is tasty compared to 45 days chicken. I also do not saute as I avoid oils being subjected to heat but put the garlic and onions directly to the soup. You may saute if you like. Here's how we do it:   Ingredients ; 1 whole native chicken (or free range chicken), cut to serving sizes water garlic onions ginger, thumsized bellpepper green papaya lemongrass, knotted salt and pepper chili leaves  Boil the chicken in a deep casserole until tender. Once the meat is tender, add the garlic, onions, ginger, abd bellpepper. Add more water if neces...

Half kilo native chicken Onions Bellpepper Ginger Coco water of 2 coconuts (about 2 L) 3 Potatoes, cubed Coco meat Salt and pepper to taste. Boil the chicken until tender with minimal water. Add ginger, onion, bellpepper and coco water. Simmer, then add poataoes and coco meat. Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot with rice on the side.

Half of native chicken Ginger 2L Young Coconut water (buko juice) 2 large potatoes, cubed Young coconut meat (buko) Salt and pepper Boil native chicken till tender and water is reduced. Add the coco water and ginger and bring to boil. Add potatoes and pepper. Continue to boil until potatoes are tender. Add salt and pepper. Serve with rice.

I am so happy that aside from the usual 45 days broiler chicken, restaurants nowadays offer native chicken. While there is a slight difference in the pricing, i do not mind. Native chicken is extra tasting, meatier and generally free from feeds and injectable vitamins which boosts growth as native chicken is usually free range or grows in a large backyard. Let me say, native chicken is muscled while broiler chicken is simply big flesh and fat. A must try is the native chicken offered in the Manokan country located in the reclamation area, beside SM City.... But i got a great taste of tinola and lechon manok, both native, at Ting ting's located along BS Aquino Drive, near Doctor's Hospital and I know, I shall be back for it! Click this link for contact numbers... http://tingtingsnativefood.weebly.com/

By GERLIE M. UY The filling Pad Thai I made Pad Thai before. See my previous post  and another post . But this one, I entitled shortcut because I forgot to fry the tofu and chop them up. So I missed the essential ingredient of a real Pad  Thai. Anyway, this noodle dish I churned out in a hurry turned out yummy. For this recipe, I had fried scrambled eggs, stripped native chicken flesh, mongo sprout and the rice noodles. I used available herbs too like celery and coriander. As for the flavoring, don't forget the tamarind-based cubes, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Please see my previous post for the cooking procedure. rice noodles here are being soaked in a hot water the cooked noodles, from crystal noodle to white color The other ingredients go to the pan...

By GERLIE M. UY My First serving of Pho Ga... The coriander leaves should have been left in the stock while it boils and should not be served.... *Stock 1 native dressed chicken 4 liters water 3 cinnamon sticks 1 stalk Coriander with roots 1 thumb-sized ginger,crushed 3 cube Pho Ga stock (use 1-2 chicken stock) fish sauce 2 liters hot water *Noodles Rice noodles Hot water *Garnish: Chopped spring onions mongo sprouts celery leaves coriander leaves quail eggs calamansi or any citrus (I used dalandan) chili sauce fish sauce How To: Clean whole or sliced chicken and add in 4 liters water in a pot. Add cinnamon sticks, coriander roots and stem with some leaves, and crushed ginger. Let boil until chicken is tender and water is reduced to about half. Remove the chicken and set aside in a bowl. Separate the flesh from bones and sliced into strips, if preferred. Chicken may be served as is. Remove other solids (or leave it with the stock). In a large bowl, place the dried rice noodles. Put ho...