Pinatisang manok (chicken soup with fermented fish sauce)

This is a classic Filipino dish. It looks and tastes very similar to tinola. Even the basic cooking procedure is the same. The difference of pinatisang manok with tinola is that it does not count wedges of raw papaya among its ingredients. Hence, the broth has none of the flavor that papaya imparts.

Pinatisang manok is very easy to prepare. Its appearance might be deceptively simple and plain but the combination of garlic, ginger and patis gives the chicken and the broth a distinctive and very satisfactory flavor and aroma.

Ingredients :

1 whole chicken (about a kilo)
a bunch of sili leaves
1 whole garlic
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
1 large white onion
patis
2 tbsps. of cooking oil

Cooking procedure :

Chop the chicken into serving pieces.

Peel and crush the garlic.

Peel and thinly slice the ginger and onion.

Heat the cooking oil in a large sauce pan or casserole. Saute the garlic, ginger and onion for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken pieces. Cook over high heat, stirring, until the meat changes color. Pour in about 1/2 c. of patis. Cook the chicken in patis until most of the liquid has evaporated. Pour in enough water to cover the chicken pieces. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Taste the broth and add more patis if necessary. Turn off the heat. Add the sili leaves without stirring. Cover and let stand for five to 10 minutes before serving.