chicken tinola

I haven't cooked much over the last few days, at least not the ones I'd like to share =) We've been craving Burrito Boyz the last few days that we hardly ever cooked dinner. I am by no means an authentic Mexican food expert but for the price you pay for those huge (and tasty!) burritos, they are definitely worth your $$$. I wish I have a picture to share with you, but we've easily devoured them before we could take a picture. And note to self: do not let them put even a drop of hotsauce in your burrito/quesadilla unless of course you can take it. Your --s will thank you in the morning. Pardon my French =P

Anyway, I cooked chicken tinola last week when a friend visited. This is probably one of the easiest Filipino chicken recipes you can make. It's such a nice soup on cold weathers like this =) A lot of people might think it's weird to use fish sauce in these dishes but trust me on this. It's a Filipino thing =P I've written my own version of the recipe after the picture. Enjoy!

Chicken Tinola

Ingredients:

boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into small pieces

2 medium sized chayote or 1 medium raw papaya

a few spinach leaves

1 onion sliced into rings

1 palm sized ginger cut into strips

minced garlic

1/2 a cup of fish sauce

4 cups of chicken broth

Directions:

In a saucepan, sautee the minced garlic, onions and ginger in cooking oil. Add the chicken breast. Cook thoroughly until the chicken has a nice golden brown colour. Add the fish sauce and continue stirring to allow the flavour to seep in. Slowly add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer under medium heat. Add the chayote or papaya. Keep simmering until the chayote or papaya is nice and soft. You may choose to add 1 chicken bouillon for added flavour. And lastly add the spinach leaves. Continue simmering for a few minutes and serve!