Pinaupong Manok is such a fun and amusing dish. The cooking procedure takes a few hour to properly give it an enhanced and tasty flavor.
You will be needing some patience to be able to cook it perfectly, but all will be worth it because it is actually very delicious and the meat of the chicken is well-done and super tender. You can prepare it for festivals, birthday parties, Christmas celebrations, or for a simple lunch with friends and family.
Pinaupo is a Tagalog word that means “to make someone sit”. Many people think that the dish is very witty, as the manok is literally placed in a sitting position while it is being cooked, thus the name of the recipe.
In addition to how it is perceived to look, there is another reason why the chicken was made to sit. As spices like lemongrass are placed inside the whole chicken, a bed of rock salt is spread on a banana leaf. The position then helps the meat absorb all the existing flavors while it is being cooked. Amazing, right? It really is a witty dish, both in how it looks and how it tastes.
Chicken meat is a lot healthier than any other animal meat, especially when compared to red meat. It is an excellent source of protein, and it is probably one of the best sources out there. Other vitamins and nutrients are also present in chicken.
How to Cook Pinaupong Manok
The recipe is somehow a little old already. The original method of cooking it requires a traditional Filipino clay pot called palayok. It was the perfect equipment in cooking the dish, but since it is not as available these days, a modern pot can be used to make it instead.
Season the whole chicken with crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Then, insert onion and lemon grass inside the chicken, you may also add other aromatic herbs if you wish.
Next, using a pot over medium heat, pour generous amount of salt at the bottom of the pot then cover it with banana leaves. Place the chicken inside the pot on a upright sitting position. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for at least 1 ½ or 2 hours.
Your incoming Christmas celebration will surely be perfect with pinaupong manok. The juicy and tender meat will impress anyone who eats it, add in all the combination of flavors that are absorbed by it. It will indeed complete the meal for the most wonderful time of the year!
Recipe
Pinaupong Manok Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 head garlic finely crushed
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 ¼ cup salt
- 1 medium onion
- 2 stalk lemongrass
- banana leaves
Instructions
- Clean the chicken, drain excess liquid and pat dry with paper towel.
- Using a mortar and pestle, finely crush the garlic. Combine it with pepper and set aside.
- Generously rub the inside and outside of the chicken with salt then massage with garlic and pepper mixture. Stuff the lemon grass and onion inside the chicken cavity then let stand for 30 minutes.
- In a large pot over medium heat, add 3 cups of salt then cove it with banana leaves. Gently place the whole chicken inside the pot in an upright sitting potion. Cover the pot with lid and cook for at least 1 ½-2 hours.
- Carefully lift the chicken from the pot and put in a serving plate. Serve and enjoy!
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