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Aloha! We’re back from our vacation and we’re slowly easing into reality. The luggage bags are half-unpacked. That in itself, is a great feat. It’s hard to wake up again in hot Arizona, staring at the ceiling and doing rock-paper-scissors to see who needs to get up first (just kidding!!!). We were so spoiled with homemade meals from morning till evening by our friends in Hawaii. In fact, not only have we expanded our food selection (steamed artichokes with mayo, papaya with lemon juice, strawberries with agave nectar, etc.) but also our waistlines! Hahaha.
When I found my cooking mojo again, I made this chicken stew-ish dish that I grew up with in the Philippines. I would ask for “tinola” and stake my claim on the chicken legs with the skin. I was not concerned about extra weight then, obviously. These days we’re trying to be healthy. So instead of chicken with all the delicious skin, I cooked chicken tenders. I used soy sauce in place of fish sauce, but I would always recommend using the latter when you have it in your kitchen. All in all, it was close to the real thing and Dan liked our evening viand:
It’s a nice combination of the texture of chicken and that of chayote, and this is perfect with rice. Dan has never eaten chayote before this and I’m glad he liked it. :-)
Here’s the step-by-step cooking photos:
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
It’s really a super simple dish to make so please, help yourself to the recipe!
Chicken Tinola
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp thinly sliced ginger
- 2 tsp crushed chunks of garlic
- 6 chicken tenders
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce (recommended: fish sauce)
- 1 chayote, sliced in 1″-chunks
- 1 1/2 cup water
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
Preparation:
1. Heat olive oil in pan in medium heat. Saute ginger and garlic for 30 seconds, or until the garlic corners turn golden brown.
2. Lay chicken tenders in the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of the meat. Sprinkle some salt and ground pepper.
3. Add soy sauce and water. Allow to boil. Then add chayote. Cover for 7-10 minutes, or until chayote is cooked and tender. Use a fork to test for chayote doneness. It will feel like your sticking the fork into a slice of ripe canteloupe. Turn off the heat.
4. Add salt, soy sauce or fish sauce to taste
5. Serve with rice.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:56 am
Thanks for the recipe! I have been wanting to learn how to cook this one but no one in our family is patient enough to teach me. :)
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October 8th, 2008 at 6:06 am
Welcome back guys! I missed you and was wondering if your vacation was going to last all year :-p It’s nice to see that you made chayote and that Dan liked it. I didn’t like it when I was a kid and I still don’t find it the most appetizing vegetable on earth, but the way you made it looks really good. I shall try it :)
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October 8th, 2008 at 8:22 am
This looks great, I have never had chayote. It souns good.
gina’s weight watcher recipess last blog post..Autumn Salad with Pears and Gorgonzola - 4.5 pts
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October 9th, 2008 at 10:08 am
hi joy! thanks for visiting my blog! you have a GREAT blog here! i love all the animation! this stew looks wonderful for a nice cool fall day like i am having!
Jamies last blog post..Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes
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October 12th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Welcome back! Tinola is quite the rainy-day dish for me :) We make ours here with leaves of a chili pepper plant– I think that should be quite easy to find, and add some welcome occasional bitterness to the dish :)
Manggys last blog post..El Bolsa Mezcla, Primera Parte
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October 13th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
hey joy! when i saw your pictures of this dish show up in my Flickr friendstream, i just had to try to make it, too. my mom usually makes this a bit more soupy so i might just have to try to double the water & the spices… the only thing i’m missing is the ginger. i’ll let you know how it goes! i’m going to make it tonight!
daysiess last blog post..twittered on 2008-10-12
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October 14th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Elaine — You’re welcome! I hope you’ll get to try it. It’s very easy. :-)
Ben — HAHAHA. Well we can’t be on vacation forever. (Sadly…lol). I’ve always loved chayote. I’ll try to put more recipes with it. We use it a lot in Filipino dishes.
Gina — Thanks!
Jamie — You’re welcome and thank you! Yes, this is perfect for cool days.
Manggy — Yes, I’ve always enjoyed it with “dahon ng sili” but I haven’t seen it around here. I love the slight bitterness it adds to the dish.
daysis — I like it soupy, too! I didn’t make it like that this time. Let me know how your dish turns out. :)
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October 22nd, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Tinola is one of my favourite ways to enjoy chicken. And I love chayote too.
[eatingclub] vancouver || jss last blog post..Duck Shepherd’s Pie, or "Duck Coop Pie"
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October 29th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Is chayote the original ingredient? I like chicken with green papaya…does it have the same texture?
Nates last blog post..Two-Year Bloggerversary Week
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