CAN you turn the Pinoy comfort food Chicken Tinola into a paella? Oh, yes, you can!
The idea came from the late Chef Ed Quimson. About two years ago, we both joined the San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Group’s two-day Laguna-Quezon food tour, where the entire group stayed overnight at Graceland Estate and Resort in Tayabas, Quezon. After a sumptuous dinner that evening, Chef Ed and I teamed up to do an impromptu cooking demo of his Chicken Tinola Paella. He was supposed to do the demo by himself, but he plucked me from the group of media people who were with him that evening to execute for him. I obliged, and so we did the demo, after which we ate the paella.
Having recently cooked Paella Valenciana with F&B World editor and good friend Marilen Fontanilla as partner for the Knorr Kitchenhood Clinic held at The Cookery in Bonifacio Global City, I remembered the Chicken Tinola Paella of Chef Ed. Since this past weekend was a long weekend and today (October 28, 2013) being Barangay Election Day and therefore afforded me an extra day at home, I decided to make Chicken Tinola Paella for lunch today. I combined the recipe of Chef Ed and the rice-to-liquid proportion of Knorr’s Paella Valenciana recipe and added my own twist (making chicken stock or broth separately from the paella) and successfully turned out a delicious paellera of Chicken Tinola Paella.
This recipe is my tribute to the late great Chef Ed Quimson, one of the most talented creative-minded chefs I’ve ever met.
THE CHICKEN STOCK:
4 cups water
2 pcs. chicken cubes
10-12 slices ginger
freshly ground black pepper
1. Combine water, chicken cubes and ginger in a stock pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Season with freshly ground black pepper and simmer for a few more minutes.
3. Strain to remove ginger slices. Set aside.
THE PAELLA:
2-3 Tbsps. olive oil
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 pc. raw papaya, peeled and cubed
1 pc. deboned and skinless chicken breast, cubed
1-1/4 cups Japanese rice
2-3/4 cups chicken-ginger stock
1/4 cup sili or saluyot leaves, picked and washed
a few sprigs of malunggay leaves (moringa), picked and washed
1. Heat olive oil in paellera or sauté pan. Add minced onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
2. Add raw papaya then the chicken breast. As soon as chicken turns opaque in color, add rice and sauté for 2 minutes. Make sure all the grains are covered with olive oil.
3. Pour in the chicken-ginger stock. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover with aluminum foil.
4. When rice is half-cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes, remove chicken pieces temporarily. Mix the paella mixture, adding sili or saluyot leaves and malunggay leaves into the mixture as you do. Top with the chicken pieces. Drizzle with olive oil, cover with foil again, and continue cooking for about 10 minutes or until rice is done.
5. When rice is done, turn off heat and serve immediately.
