August 9, 2022

Last week I got sick and that was the reason why I became inactive online. Aside from being sick, I also had a lot on my plate that I need to deal with. So even if I was sick, the grinding continued. Living abroad isn't easy, most especially when I am sick as no one would take care of me and I still need to work. So each time my body is not feeling well, I always wanted to go back home where I could fully relax and where my mom could cater to anything I want.

And that also includes craving Filipino food. I've been living abroad for more than four years and I often eat Filipino food because each day I'm eating Chinese food. My sickness made me crave some Filipino soup, such as chicken tinola (chicken soup) and arrozcaldo or porridge.

So the other day, despite having a bad body condition and bad weather, I walked in the rain and went to the market just to buy the ingredients for the Filipino food I want to cook, to satisfy my cravings.

The market was too busy as usual, and it seemed like marketers were swarming around to prepare for some occasions.

---

After buying, I immediately went to the kitchen to cook the Filipino food that I was craving, the chicken tinola.

Chicken tinola is a classic Filipino soup dish that anyone who'll visits our country should try. This is good to cook, especially in the cold season as its tasty chicken broth could help you feel warm. Way back in the Philippines, I like drinking its soup when I am sick and losing appetite. The ginger and other spices give more flavor to the chicken soup and its lil bit spicy flavor can help restore appetite. It is also best to pair it with a hot rice.

Let's start the cooking

And here are the ingredients:

• chicken
• green papaya
• ginger
• onions
• garlic
• fish sauce (optional)

Since I didn't find moringa leaves, I opted to buy Chinese celery to add more green to the tinola.

The procedure:

Cooking chicken tinola is so easy and can be done in more or less 30 minutes.

• Just start by sautéing ginger, garlic, and onions for a few minutes.

• Then add the chicken and cook it until the pieces of chicken get light brown.

• Add some fish sauce to add more flavor. (This is optional. I just add it since I remember a video of someone cooking chicken tinola who added fish sauce and I got curious about its taste. But usually, we don't add fish sauce.)

• Add water, enough to submerge the chicken. Let it boil.

I let the soup boil on a low fire to extract the chicken flavor well until the meat gets tinder. I usually cook chicken tinola for 20 to 30 minutes, and I like the papaya to soften well so I am adding it to the soup 10 minutes before it's done.

• Add the papaya 10 minutes before it's done, and the Chinese celery leaves for a minute before you turn off the fire.

• Once the chicken is tender, turn off the fire and add some salt if you want to. This is optional too.

The chicken is now ready to serve!

And who likes eating chicken feet? Yey! I missed this so much.

One would definitely lose her strict diet as this soup stimulates appetite. It is also healthy and packed with protein and B vitamins perfect for the family.

And now that you know this recipe, go and try it 😊.