Balon – balonan at kangkong (gizzards and water spinach)

Barbecued balon-balonan ng manok is probably the most popular way of cooking chicken gizzards in the Philippines today. Sold as street food, they are initially boiled until half cooked, then grilled until crisp. My daughters like balon-balonan ng manok tremendously but find the barbecued form too tough.

Frozen balon-balonan ng manok or chicken gizzards are available in most supermarkets. In the wet market, they are bought together with the livers. We bought ours from the supermarket at my 11-year-old daughter’s prompting. She asked if we could have them with vegetables.

The most common way of cooking gizzards with vegetables is to use them for a stir-fried dish like chop suey. I actually intended to cook it that way but that would have been too predictable and would be no surprise to my husband and kids. So, I thought about kangkong (water spinach), a vegetable everyone in my family enjoys.

As a new twist, instead of using julienned ginger, I used lemon-flavored salabat (ginger brew) to perk up the sauce.

Ingredients :

400 g. of balon-balonan ng manok (chicken gizzards)
2 bunches of kangkong (water spinach)
1 tbsp. of finely minced garlic
2 onions, diced
1/4 c. of light soy sauce
1 tbsp. of hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. of lemon-flavored powdered salabat (ginger brew)
2 tbsp. of cooking oil
1 tbsp. of cornstarch
pepper
water

Cooking procedure :

Trim all visible fat from the gizzards. Cut each gizzard into three. Season with a tsp. of light soy sauce.

Heat a skillet or wok. Pour in the cooking oil. Saute the garlic and onions until fragrant. Add the gizzards with the marinade. Cook over high heat until the edges start to brown. Season with pepper. Pour in about a cup of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables and sauce. Wash and trim the kangkong; discarding the tough ends. Cut into 2″ lengths. Disperse the cornstarch in 1 c. of water. Add the hoisin sauce and the remaining soy sauce. Mix well.

When the gizzards are tender (the mixture should be almost dry), add the kangkong. Cook, stirring, over high heat until the leaves start to wilt. Pour in the sauce mixture. Add the powdered salabat. Stir until the sauce is thick.