Our Take on Pepe's Tinolang Manok

Tinolang manok or chicken stew with green papaya wedges and chili leaves is a dish often associated with our National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Although I am not aware of any other historical accounts to support many claims that this dish is indeed "among his favorites" aside from his mention of it in his famous novel, Noli Me Tangere (The Social Cancer) in Chapter 3: "Ang Hapunan" (The Dinner). Here's an excerpt from the chapter, from Project Gutenberg: 

"A large steaming tureen was brought in. The Dominican, after muttering the benedicite, to which scarcely any one knew how to respond, began to serve the contents. But whether from carelessness or other cause, Padre Damaso received a plate in which a bare neck and a tough wing of chicken floated about in a large quantity of soup amid lumps of squash, while the others were eating legs and breasts, especially Ibarra, to whose lot fell the second joints. Observing all this, the Franciscan mashed up some pieces of squash, barely tasted the soup, dropped his spoon noisily, and roughly pushed his plate away. The Dominican was very busy talking to the rubicund youth."

How to prepare

Parboil the chicken in a pot with 1/4 cup water and a dash of salt. If frozen, thaw the meat first. 

Take off from the pot portions of the chicken without skin. Let the remaining chicken in the pot cook until it turns brown and its oil comes out. This way, you don't need to add additional oil for sauteing. 

Once the chicken oil is out, add the ginger until it turns brown, add the garlic and the red onion. 

Add the portions of the chicken you have set aside earlier. Add fish sauce (initially about 1 tablespoon) to taste. You can add more of either salt or fish sauce to fit your desired taste. 

Add water and bring to a boil. 

Add the green papaya* wedges. To check if the green papaya is cooked (it takes about 2 - 3 minutes or more), poke it with a fork. 

Turn off the stove and add the chilies and leaves. Put the pot lid on to let the leaves cook before serving.

*Sayote (chayote) is often used to replace green papaya in this recipe; and in some preparations, malunggay leaves (moringa) is used to replace chili leaves. 

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Curious about the health benefits of eating green papaya? Check out The George Mateljan Foundation's blog about it.