A scientist in the kitchen

Tinola is a dish seasoned with ginger and fish sauce. The most common type of tinola is tinolang manok or chicken tinola. Chicken is sauted with ginger and fish sauce, water is added to make the broth. Sliced green papayas and siling labuyo (bird’s eye chili) leaves make up the rest of the ingredients. There are other modifications of course. In the South, instead of ginger, people use lemongrass. Green papayas are replaced with sayote/chayote while malunggay (Moringa) leaves are used instead of siling labuyo leaves.

You don’t need to add meat, though. Sometimes, I make vegetable tinola. The fish sauce is a must though, as the combination of ginger and fish sauce brings out a flavorful dish. Vegetable tinola can be any combination of vegetables and for this recipe I used upo (white pumpkin), sigarilyas (winged bean) malunggay leaves and siling labuyo leaves.

Vegetable tinola

100 grams upo
2 pcs winged bean
½ cup malunggay leaves
½ cup siling labuyo leaves
2-inch ginger
1 pcs small onion
Fish sauce to taste
Black pepper to taste

Slice ginger thinly. Chop onion crosswise. Peel upo and slice into 2-inch pieces. Remove core. Cut winged beans to 2-inch pieces and snap in the center. Saute ginger in 1 tsbp oil then add fish paste (1-2 tsp). Saute for a few seconds then add the onion. Saute some more till onion is limp. Add the upo, mix until half done. Add the winged bean, sauté for a minute then add half a cup of water. Bring to a boil. Adjust taste for saltiness by adding fish sauce. Add freshly crushed black pepper. When boiling, add the malunggay leaves and siling labuyo leaves. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Do not mix as this will make the broth bitter (it has been observed that when malunggay is mixed, the broth becomes bitter). Just press the leaves to wet with the broth. When the leaves are cooked, remove from fire and serve. This goes well with fried or grilled fish. I paired this dish with grilled milkfish.

Katie of Thyme for Cooking is hosting this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging. Watch out for her Easter round-up next week.

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Summer months coming up here! Beaches and more beaches… I’m heading off to the beach, watching waves go by with my vintage sunglasses.

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