Tinolang Manok is the ultimate comfort food! Made of chicken, green papaya, fresh spinach, and ginger-flavored broth, this Filipino soup is hearty, healthy, and tasty.
How amazing it is to be human. The things we disregard, the things we hold dear, the things we remember. I am now a forty-two-year-old woman who has gone through life and seen too much of life, and yet, every time I cook a pot of tinolang manok, a memory from an already distant past can still grip my heart and tear it apart.
I was five years old when my parents separated, and soon after, my father began another family. On one of the rare occasions we did visit him, my brothers, my father, his new wife, and his then 2-year-old son gathered around the table for a lunch of chicken tinola.
In the Philippines, or at least in our household, all edible parts of the fowl~liver, gizzards, neck, and all, are used in the soup. As there is only ONE liver, considered the most nutritious, it's usually given to the precious child of the house. When my father ladled our portions of the soup, I reached out for my bowl with a certainty that only comes from the naivety of a child that THE liver was in mine. Instead, my father, cooing as he did, plopped the coveted piece into his boy's.
I was too young then to explain the onslaught of tears, to even understand what I was crying about. All I remember was the desperate need to be back home at my mother's house, my mother's house, where I would have been the ONE with the liver in her bowl.
Cooking tips
How to serve
Tinola is traditionally served as a main dish for lunch or dinner. It's common to partake of the dish with steamed rice and fish sauce as a condiment on the side.
Storing leftovers
- To store, transfer in a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
- To reheat, place in a saucepan and cook to an internal temperature of 165 F.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and sliced thinly
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 thumb-sized fresh ginger
- 1 (3 to 4 pounds) whole chicken, cut into serving pieces
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 5 cups water
- 1 small green papaya, pared, seeded and cut into 2-inch wedges
- 1 bunch fresh spinach leaves, stems trimmed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions, ginger, and garlic and cook until softened.
- Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken starts to change color and juices run clear.
- Add fish sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add water and bring to a boil, skimming scum that floats on top. Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Add papaya and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until tender yet crisp.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add spinach and push down into broth. Cook until just wilted. Serve hot.
Notes
- Cut the chicken in uniform size to ensure even cooking.
- For a clear, cloud-free broth, remove any scum that floats on top.
Video
Nutrition Information
โThis website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.โ
pinky says
it does taste yummier if you use spinach although I used zayote ... hard to peel green papaya!
Silben says
Kamusta ka po~ Sinubukan ng asawang gumawa ng tinola pero may ripe papaya. He wanted to. Do you have any recommendations to "save the dish" as the sweetness of the papaya clashes konti lang I'm thinking of sieving the broth and add new spinach (and/or remaining bok choy from other dish) and increase ginger. He used a lot of patis (sarap pero *a lot*), so we'll see how it goes. Tonight I'll try this if I don't hear back by then and ipapaalam ko sayo. (: It'll be an experiment. Bahala na si batman. Huhuhu~ salamat po
Paul San Diego says
Preferably used Chichen than fowl. We never used fowl or ibon in the Philippines as ibon in the philipplines other kinds of birds than chicken.
Rhonda Davidson says
Aloha Lalaine! Made this today but used chayote and spinach since I didnโt have time to look for malungay! I am happy to say that this was my FIRST TIME making Tinola Manolito and it came out delicious! I have 6โ hapa husband (German/Japanese) and 3 young men (29, 20 & 17-1/2) with big appetites and they LOVED it!! I made 6 servings. The only thing I did was I added more ginger, chayote and patis and I was so happy with the outcome! This recipe is a keeper so maraming salamat for sharing your recipe! I canโt wait to try your other recipes!!!
irene says
Personally I would blanch the chicken first to get rid of the impurities and save the work of skimming off the scum in the soup. Otherwise a really simple and good recipe to follow. I did use chayote since green papaya is not readily available where I am located.
Victoria says
How do you blanch the chicken?
Claudie says
Bring a pot of water (just enough to cover the meat) to boil, then put the chicken in, bring to boil again then lower heat and simmer 5-10 minutes till chicken turns white. Discard the water and rinse the chicken.
Rolf A. Kneuss says
Hello Lalaine
Salamat for this recipe i love Philippino food and Chicken Tinola is my favor.
I found green papaia in a asia shop but cant find Malung. So i make it with
spinach leaves. Pagpalain kayo ng Diyos. Stay save.
Best Regards
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you so much! God bless!
Rolf A. Kneuss says
Salamatdin god bless you too.
I'm making chicken tinola right now. I would like to try it as you show it with Thai fish sauce. But I'm afraid that you will still taste it. Doesn't that make fish tinola? You're taking a fair amount of it.
Greetings from Switzerland
Precious says
Hi Lalaine thank you for sharing this recipe. I live outside Philippines, and I couldn't find malunggay leaves even in asian stores. I'm happy that you used spinach. Thank you as well for mentioning that potato could be used instead of green papaya and chayote. Now I can make this meal any day without visiting asian store that sells chayote and green papaya which is about 143kms away from my home.
Your story about not getting liver when you visited your father is heartbreaking, and I can relate.
These memories make the food even more delicious.
Regards,
Joel Canayon Obra says
Good day..may i know po kng by pieces po ba or by kilo or grams po ung #s..i will cook for 100 people po kasi is the chicken 25 kilo or 25 pieces of chicken??