Classic Gluten-Free Pinoy Dish: Tinola!

Cooking Gluten-Free for the family is sometimes not so easy, especially when you have a ton of things to do but still want to cook your family a complete delicious and healthy meal. In my case, to make preparation easy, I cook gluten-free for the entire household, kids included–even if only my husband needs to eat gluten-free.

If you’re a fan of the local Filipino dishes just like I am,  you’ll know a very good, easy to prepare, and fully comforting meal that’s enough for the entire family. This dish only requires very little ingredients, and all of them, yes,  you guessed it: gluten-free! Try this local dish everyone loves: chicken soup with sweetness of papaya, for the soul, heart and tummy. 🙂

INGREDIENTS

1 Whole Free Range Chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 tsp Organic Patis (Fish sauce)
1 medium sized Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 thumb-sized fresh Ginger, peeled and minced
1 small green Papaya, cut into 2 inch wedges
1 tbsp. Cooking oil (canola or coconut oil)
5 cups water
1 small bunch of Chili leaves

DIRECTIONS

On a pot or a wok, saute the garlic, onion and ginger for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the chicken and cook in oil with the other ingredients, sauteing for a few minutes until the chicken changes color and the fat renders. You want to achieve some color change in the chicken, but it should not be fried all the way. Cooking it using this sangkucha technique, instead of direct boiling, allows caramelization in the ingredients and combines it nicely with the flavor of the chicken.

Add the water and simmer for 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the papaya and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the color turns vibrant green and flesh is tender. Use your fork to test for doneness. Turn off the heat, add the chili leaves and let cook for another 3 minutes or until the leaves are properly blanched. Season with patis or fish sauce to taste.

Serve on the side of cooked white rice, or brown rice. Enjoy!