Kinulob na Manok is a well known comfort food and can bring memories of home and perfect for family gatherings.
If the Koreans have their Samgyetang or Ginseng Chicken, we have Kinulob na Manok. Kinulob in this context means forced cooking and covered tightly. This is our very own version of pressurized cooking in the olden times.
This Kinulob na Manok recipe is an easy chicken soup recipe, more popularly cooked in the provinces, especially in the Southern Tagalog Region. In Batangas, they have a fiesta dedicated for this chicken recipe which is called the Kinulob Festival.
Originally, it is cooked in a “palayok” or clay pot. The claypot is covered with banana leaves then tied up so steam won’t come out. You can cook it in a regular pot but don’t forget the banana leaves covering. I think this is also part of the recipe and the smell is incorporated in the stewed chicken. It’s akin to the Pinaupong Manok except this one have soup (“sabaw”) and Pinaupong Manok is more like Litsong Manok. Both of them are cooked in a claypot.
The whole stewed chicken is then cooked slowly in medium fire for about an hour or less -depending on the size of your chicken.
According to Chef Jessie, who shared this recipe in the Culinary Elite Series Cooking Class at the Maya Kitchen for her Filipino Christmas Recipes, the original recipe is by Patis Tesoro. The original recipe had Chorizo and Bacon.
The taste is a bit sweetish, maybe because of the chorizo and tomatoes. I liked it as a soup. Although this chicken dish came from my region, I had not had a chance to taste it before – we always had either Adobong Manok or Tinola if it’s soup.
It’s a very festive chicken dish, which is probably why Chef Jessie included it in her Filipino Christmas Table – the chorizo and tomatoes bringing the color to the dish.
Kinulob Na Manok
Ingredients
Shopping List:
- •Whole chicken (approx. 2-3kg)
- •Chinese sausage (2 pcs)
- •Smoked ham (4 slices)
- •White onion (1 pc, medium)
- •Potatoes (2 pcs, medium)
- •Tomatoes (2 pcs, medium)
- •Calamansi (3 pcs)
- •Onion leeks (3 stalks)
- •Olive oil (1/4 cup)
- •Whole peppercorns (1 tbsp)
- •Banana leaves
- •Barbecue sticks
- •String
In your pantry
- •Soy sauce (1/4 cup)
- •Water (4-5 cups)
- •Salt to taste
- •Onions
- • Garlic
- • Black peppercorns
- • Cooking oil
- • Soy sauce
- • Ketchup
- •Vinegar
Tools Needed:
- •Knives
- •Cutting board
- •Measuring cups and spoons
- •Clay pot
Instructions
- Rub chicken in and out with salt until chicken is almost shiny and no more "lansa:. Rinse well. Pat dry with paper towel.
- Stuff chicken cavity with 1 piece chorizo, 2 slices of either salami, ham or bacon, half of the onion, potato, tomato and 1 stalk of leeks.
- Close the cavity by using barbecue stick.
- Lay the chicken, breast up in a clay pot.
- Arrange the rest of the ingredients in the pot, around and on top of the chicken.
- Season to taste.
- Pour enough water (you may use chicken stock) until the chicken is submerged.
- Cover pot with banana leaf tied tightly with a butcher string.
- Boil, then simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until chicken is cooked.
Notes
Tips:
Covering with banana leaf keep the chicken moist and infuses a subtle banana flavor.
The sauce and cooking liquid make an umami-rich dip for bread or crackers.Variations: •Use different sausages like longganisa, chorizo or Andouille. •Replace the ham with bacon. •Add other root vegetables like carrots, turnips and celery root.
For Vegans/Vegetarians: Omit the meat and use extra onion, leeks, potatoes and tomatoes. Add mushrooms and other vegetables of choice. The sauce and cooking method remains the same.