Veggie Boosters to Spice Up Your Chicken Tinola

 

It’s been almost a year since I started staying at home more than I used to for the past 37 years. March of 2020 when working from home (WFH) a number of days per week was made an alternative work option during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WFH scheme hasn’t exempted me from doing household duties. One could get so engrossed with chat exchanges with officemates and you just realize it’s past noontime because you feel your stomach gurgling and an irrate hubby asks, “Aren’t we having lunch yet?” but you haven’t decided what to prepare for lunch!

Well, this pandemic has taught me how to be more innovative and resourceful in the kitchen- - - 

🧑‍🍳 use everything in the veggie bin

🧑‍🍳 get out of the box (or should I say pan?) by trying other veggie combinations to upgrade the taste of old recipes 

🧑‍🍳 learn to play with spices to enhance the flavor of dishes

🧑‍🍳 take note of expiry dates so nothing goes to trash (and no tummy gets upset!)

Heading to the grocery store is a real hassle these days. How I hate the thought of disinfecting everything before bringing them inside the house! One has to exhaust all means to minimize going out. We are all reminded to:

Stay home.

Stay safe.

 #RespectLockDown

Make every effort to:

 #SaveOurWorld

#FightCOVID19 

And now, before I get sidetracked writing about the pangs of WFH, let me get back to the main reason for this post. I’m supposed to share how I upgraded my Chicken Tinola to the next level.

Chicken Tinola (chicken soup or chicken ginger stew) is one of my favorites 😋 and I confess I’m always tempted to cook it every week. So I thought of tweaking the ingredients from the traditional recipe. I always cook chicken tinola without sauteing the chicken in oil as many do. Recently, instead of just putting in ginger, papaya or sayote and chili leaves, I applied a liitle of math (by adding more ingredients like corn kernels, string beans and bell pepper) and geometry (by using chunks or strips or ground chicken instead of the standard tinola cut). Hmmm... that’s what you get from having a mathematician for a hubby!🤣

Here’s how I did it. 

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1 tbsp ginger strips

1 medium onion, sliced

1/2 kg chicken breast fillet, cut into strips or chunks (or ground chicken)

1/2 - 1 piece chicken bullion (according to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup corn kernels (or canned sweet corn)

1 small sayote or papaya, chunked

1 small bunch string beans, cut

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

2 bunches of chili leaves 

Steps:

1. Boil water with ginger and onion.
2. Add chicken. Simmer until tender.
3. Add chicken bullion, salt and pepper according to taste.
4. Add corn and sayote. Simmer.
5. Add string beans. 
6. Add bell pepper and chili leaves. 
7. Serve hot. 

This is a complete meal in itself. Very tasty! I love how the sweet flavor of the corn and bell pepper blends with the chili leaves. Actually, I just add corn most of the time. But if other veggies (string beans or bell pepper or eggplant) are available, I also add them. Prevents them from becoming overstaying residents in my veggie bin. And most often, spur-of-the-moment decision.😊

You can also add more water as desired. I always do because my mother and hubby love to sip hot soup with their meals. 

Simple, fast and healthy. Well, would you like to try it for your next meal? If you do, please tell me how it went by dropping a line or two in the comment box below. If you or your family liked it, please show some love by sharing this recipe post to your friends. 🙂