Chicken Inasal

I recently tried the chicken inasal recipe from overseaspinoycooking.com. I never really knew how it tasted like. I know there was one Chicken Inasal outlet somewhere in Makati that I tried eating it, but was not too impressed (still preferred the lechon manok from Andok's or Baliwag, and one in Manila which seemed owned by a Japanese (superb herb and brine flavors! I would only get the chance to buy from them when I had to go home to Bulacan from a station near Jose Reyes hospital.)

But I remember one of my friends who is now located in this state and found me through this foodblog had chicken inasal and she recommended this recipe. I probably should have used more marinade, or marinated longer. I also goofed because when I had to boil the marinade before grilling, I mistakenly added soy sauce when there should not be (too much inclination for me to do things this way when making barbecue of anything). It was good, but only kinda skin-deep, so next time I am gonna make more marinade and will probably leave them in the fridge for more than overnight.

I did use annatto oil per MaMely's recipe. I had to try twice because I burnt the first. When she said simmer, she meant simmer! As in, start and keep the heat on low; not boil then lower to simmer. Haha! Now I got a whole cup of it in an 8-oz canning jar without seeds (take note, MaMely!)

Thanks to both foodbloggers!

UPDATE:
Because I was not too satisfied with the outcome of the recipe I initially tried, I googled it again. Found one at Market Manila but no recipe; just ingredients. Well, I do not like guessing when it is my first time to cook something. For something I have cooked many times before, I can cook without measuring (the measurements here in my recipes are often approximate, and given here for the sake of the newbie cooks who might want to try my recipes).

Reading the comments under MM's post, I came across this one particular comment which got me intrigued, so next time I am gonna try it:

Here’s 1 foolproof delish inasal recipe I have been following eversince I got this from the free recipe booklet of Lea and Perrins worcestershire sauce:

1 whole chicken,(approx.1kg), quartered
6 stalks lemongrass, white part pounded
1/2 tsp chopped ginger
1/3 cup annatto oil
1 cup soda(sprite)
2 tbsps tamarind paste or juice
1/3 cup tamarind leaves, washed
3 tbsps chopped garlic
3 tbsps lea and perrins worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tbsps patis
1 tsp pepper
Place all ingredients in a bowl and marinate for at least 25 mins. Transfer in a pan and bring to a boil to cook chicken for about 15 mins.Remove chicken and simmer stock for another 15 mins.Strain and reserve stock for grilling.
Cook chicken over hot charcoal and brush frequently with the reserved stock.Cook just until chicken has burn marks.Serve with sinamak or spiced vinegar.
To make sinamak, put red chilies, garlic, peppercorns, ginger and onions in a bottle.Fill with vinegar and let the flavors infuse for at least 8 hours.Serve with grilled chicken.

I never go wrong with this recipe and am always ensured with a thoroughly cooked, moist and flavorful chicken!Sometimes I omit the tamarind leaves when not available and just increase a tbsp of the tamarind paste/juice or even use sinigang powder and it’s still the same flavor! Try it! Thanks to that free booklet of recipes!

Another recipe shared this time by Emeriza D.

Manang..heres my recipe of chicken inasal originally from my cousin sa bacolod.. hope you like it. I preffered po na grilled sya.. but okay din ang baked po.

*Whole chicken (cut into serving portions)
i rub nyo po ng salt..and leave it for 30-40 min.
then pour vinegar, lots of garlic (2 head) and lots of ginger..(pinoy suka po) enough to cover the chicken lng po (soak it for 1-2 hours lng po para di maluto sa suka)

Mag gisa po kayo ng luya and bawang at dinikdik na lemon grass po damihan ng mantika ( yun po yung i spread nyo sa chicken while cooking it) atsuete powder for coloring and salt to taste

pagtapos pong ibabad yung chicken, tusuktusukin para ma sure na papasok lasa ng ginisa mixture

ihaw lng po...

then sa sawsawan po... Kalamansi, toyo at suka, little amount of sugar to balance the taste.

yung pinaggisahan po ng pan... pwede pong dun mag gawa fried rice.

Thanks to Mely for these Puto Molds!

I came home very tired from work today, and I still have to go to work early tomorrow morning, then I have the weekend off, and I will be able to update my blog and do some bloghopping.
Mely had told me about her sending these puto molds to me and I have been waiting excitingly for them.
I finally got them today! They were like mini muffin cups! But the good thing about these (in contrast to muffin cups) is that they do not have ridges, so clean up (and brushing with butter) will be much easier!

Thanks, Mely!!! Like you said, I will put these puto molds to good use...you can count on me for that!

Mely is a very good cook and has got lots of excellent recipes in her food blog.

For those who might be interested to purchase puto molds, the tartlet pans on the right will probably do (they are like shorter versions of muffin cups without the ridges).

Eating Your Words

 

Tangled Noodle and Savor the Thyme posted this challenge to "write" or "spell" using food or drink. I thought it would be fun to join, although initially I could not think of what to "write."



Well, two nights ago, I was on duty, and my charge nurse warned me about the possibility of being RIF'ed after 10 PM (RIF=reduction in force, a cost-cutting measure where employees are asked not to come to work or go home if there are not enough patients). So when I came home after that duty, I resolved to sleep only 4 hours, thinking I must be able to sleep with my husband that night. However, as soon as I got to work, I learned that somebody else called out. That meant, I would have to stay and work the whole shift. Darn...

I told my charge nurse and the other nurse, "I feel sad that I can't go home....boohoo...my husband and I were planning on making whoopie tonight." And they laughed...Suddenly I knew what to "write" about.

You see, Mainers (or probably New Englanders) know the meaning of whoopie that is not the whoopie pie pictured above surrounded by the spelled whoopie.

Whoopie pies are my husband's favorite sweet snack, the reason why he gave me my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. He cannot eat the ones available in stores because "they don't make it the way Mom does." The difference being that his mom's recipe makes use of fresh egg whites for the filling; those sold in stores use fluff. His request then was for me to learn how to make whoopie pies from his mom, and I gladly obliged. Now I am making them as well, although I tweaked the recipe to make double batch, and to make use of egg yolks in the batter instead of throwing them away after making the filling.

While baking these, my husband was eagerly waiting, and as soon as I took the above photo, he was standing beside me and saw it, laughed, and asked if he could have that one in the middle (the first one assembled as whoopie pie), which of course he could. He took a bite and said, "You make the best whoopie pies." Now the letters are sandwiched and hidden...My fridge is stocked with them whoopie pies, which will probably last 2-3 days...Hubby and older son particularly like eating them with milk, I with coffee.

Whoopie pies are very popular here in Maine, but I make them only about twice a year or so because they are heavy on cholesterol and sugar...and this way, they are a real treat when I do make them.

And yes, hubby and I are making whoopies tonight. :)

Recipe can be found here.

UPDATE:
Round-up of the entries by the challengers is posted here and here.

As a reward for participating in the fun event, I got the following badge!



Thanks to Savor The Thyme and Tangled Noodles for hosting this challenge!