A dish similar to this one was my friend Melissa’s contribution to our last every-Saturday-dinner with our close-knit circle of whacky friends (I brought my potato, beef and peanut pot). I asked her for the recipe and she recited the ingredients and procedure between mouthfuls of guinataang kuhol and inihaw ng liempo. In her recipe, kalamansi (native lemon) juice was among the ingredients.
I decided early this morning that I would cook my version of Melissa’s recipe. I had already marinated the chicken pieces when I discovered that we didn’t have kalamansi in the house. A trip to the nearby sari-sari stores proved futile. The roadside vegetable stalls were all closed. Sunday, after all. So, what was I going to do with marinated chicken…?? I did some fast thinking and went back to the nearest sari-sari store. A can of pineapple chunks would do. I would just add a little rice wine. The tanginess and aroma of the pineapple plus the mild sourness of rice vinegar would do the trick. The cooked dish was just wonderful! So easy to prepare too.
Ingredients :
1 whole chicken, about 1.2 kg. in weight
1/2 c. of liquid seasoning
1 whole garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 large white onion, sliced thinly
6 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 c. of pineapple chunks (canned)
1/2 c. of pineapple syrup
1 tbsp. of rice vinegar
4 tbsps. of sugar
pepper
4 tbsps. of butter
salt
Cooking procedure :
Chop the chicken into serving pieces (as though you’re cutting it for fried chicken). Separate the breast and reserve for future use. Place the chicken pieces in a bowl. Pour in the liquid seasoning and add half of the chopped garlic. Mix well. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Transfer the chicken, with the marinade and garlic, to a large sauce pan. Set over medium heat. Do not add any water. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Saute the garlic until fragrant. Add the sliced onion and the tomatoes. Cook until the vegetables start to turn soft. Pour the sauteed vegetables, with all the juices, into the sauce pan with the chicken. Add the pineapple chunks. Pour in the pineapple syrup and rice vinegar. Season with sugar and pepper. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes. Again, do not be tempted to add water. The liquid from the vegetables are enough to cook the chicken.
When the chicken is done, taste the sauce. Add salt, if it is too bland.
Serve hot.
Hi Connie!I just wanted to let you know that I have a very good friend with the exact name (Connie Veneracion). She got married and is now Connie Shipman.Also, thanks for the recipes!For someone who isn’t into cooking,it has been easy for me to follow the recipes because you explain the steps so well.You’ll be proud of me.After following your recipes, my family now thinks I’m a good cook.Thanks to you and your generosity in sharing your techniques.BTW, this may be a stupid ? but what is “liquid seasoning?” Can you please add a great steak recipe? Happy New Year to you – may you have a safe and healthy one!
Hi Victoria.
I am so happy for you. Cooking is fun, isn’t it? Sucks when the pros try hard to mystify it.
“Liquid seasoning” is Knorr or Magi seasoning. I use them interchangeably with steak sauce or Worsectershire sauce.
Re: steak recipe. LOL Why didn’t I ever think of that? All those times we grilled steaks, I never took photos. I’ll remember that in the future.
Hi i would like to know the recipe for this chicken using the calamansi as marinade. Thanks
hey connie. its me again. hehe, i seriously need to stock up my pantry with basic ingredients…but anyway, i don’t have rice vinegar, i just have the regular vinegar..i wondered if you’d think it’ll be a great idea to mix the regular vinegar with real lemon? haha, puro na lang ako lemon….lemon addict kase eh.
i also bought this pineapple, and i have no clue what to do with it. whaa. i digress though.
re regular vinegar ang lemon. naku, i did that once, grace. SOBRA tapang.
re pineapple. o, you’re looking at a page with pineapple in the recipe! try mo na.
Hi there miss. I was wondering what you mean by liquid seasoning. I am making this today for my wife and I and I probably wont be putting that in since I am not too sure on that one.
Anyways, thanks for an awesome site! I’ve been cooking food that I missed from my mom and Philippines from the recipes I picked up here. Its tough to get some ingredients tho since I have to travel 70miles to get to the nearest Asian store.
Know liquid seasoning, Maggi liquid seasoning, or even Worcestershire sauce or A1 Steak sauce.
Maggi seasoning sauce is very popular in asian cuisine which is ironic since it was invented by a Swiss. Maggi has been owned by Nestle. I don’t think the Knorr counterpart even comes close to the quality. Knorr tastes more like liquid MSG. The only questionable ingredient in Maggi seasoning is the “artificial flavoring”. What the heck do they mean by that? Is it suppose to resemble the taste of soy sauce or worcestershire sauce?
i tried this recipe just right now and simmering happily in the saucepan…
it came out perfectly, usually i’d go wrong on a little detail but the instructions are so simply put that it’s that easy to get things going.
i love cooking, it’s real nice to get recipes from home!
thanks again, tita (can i call you “tita”? it seems so disrespectful without the title kasi e…)!!!!
jamie:grin::grin::grin:
Hi,
am very much interested to read your reply to comment #3 (i.e., recipe using calamansi)
thanks.
brandy, i don’t post recipes i haven’t cooked.
Hi Connie,
I appreciate all your time and effort spent on sharing your recipes online.
I am Ritchie, a husband-employee-cooking-and-father. My wife also cooks but I would prefer to cook as well for my family and friends.
I always follow your recipes (easy to follow and doable) – I like especially this and the Pininyahang Manok.
More power to you and your family.
God bless,
Ritchie
hi ms. connie! this is the second time that im going to try this recipe. the first one was cooked by mama and now its my turn. its simmering while im writing this *smile* thanks so much for sharing your recipes and how u make it easy for us, newbies, to follow your instructions. im a fan already of your site, whenever i want to cook something, i go to your site immediately. thats why my hubby keeps on teasing me with a “pinoycook” chant in his loud dutch accent haha!
more power to you and your family. and btw, u are a good photographer too *smile* makes me drool just looking at the photos aaahhh!
I would have to disagree on the better quality of Maggi over Knorr liquid seasoning. I would choose Knorr over Maggi anytime, and I always have extra bottles of Knorr. Try both to test your preference.
leng, your hubby chanting while you’re cooking is cute. LOL
hi ms connie. ur recipes helped me alot. im only 1 year married and no serious cooking experience b4 but ff your recipes made my husband say that i should put up a restaurant.
wat can i use as alternative for rice vinegar? cant find even in big groceries. thanks
hej connie!
I tried this recipe lastnight…. delicious! easy to cook as well…:)) my hubby says may idagdag nanaman daw sya sa listahan nya LOL
Thanks again!
i got here via the pork and pineapple stew recipe. i made the chicken version and its sooooooooooo good.. i already made it twice the last couple of weeks.
do u have the lemon version posted as well?
is ur taste book out yet?
Nikki, the pork version uses lemon or kalamansi juice. The Tastebook has been available since October.
Hi Ms. Connie. Thank you for your recipes! Your directions and ingredients are so simple and easy to acquire that even I feel as if I am a good cook already. Anyway, I tried this with sake (perhaps same as rice wine) and also added some potatoes and carrots and bell peppers and I really liked the outcome! So did those who had a taste, I think. God bless!
Hi connie.
You know what i like about your site? Your style of cooking and the way you present your recipe. Each one comes with a special introduction: its origin or how you finally decided to cook it. The best part of it? you know how to entertain your readers. happy cooking again.. btw, i just cooked your 20-minute chicken recipe with coconut milk a while ago.it was devoured up to the last drop..:) thanks for sharing…
Thanks, Ody. Re chicken with coconut milk: anything with coconut milk gets devoured in my house too. Try using coconut milk or cream as an ingredient for chicken marinade (see chicken tikka). Delicious!