Buko pandan tinolang manok

Tinolang manok is a common dish made of boiled chicken, green papaya, chili leaves, ginger, garlic, onion, peppercorn and patis. I gave my version of tinola a slight modification by adding buko and its juice and pandan leaves to add more aroma and to enhance the flavor of the broth. At first,I was a bit hesitant to add buko in it, but then I thought, " why not? pwede naman siguro." The pureed buko gave a slight creaminess to the broth. Now it is more appealing not just to the taste but also to the smell.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp. oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pc. onion, minced

1 1/2 inch ginger, sliced

1 kl. chicken, cut into pieces

1/2 tsp. black peppercorn

2 cups water

1 medium green papaya, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" wedges

1 bunch sili leaves

5 pcs. pandan leaves

1 pc. buko (coconut meat), pureed

buko juice

patis and salt, to taste

DIRECTION:

1. Sautee ginger, onion and garlic in oil. Add in the chicken pieces.

2. Season with patis and peppercorn.

3. Add buko juice, water, and pandan leaves.

4. Once the broth is boiling, add in the pureed buko.

5. When chicken is cooked, add the papaya and simmer for a few minutes.

6. Season according to your taste.

7. Turn off the heat and lastly, add in the chili leaves.

Add pureed buko in tinola.

Fine dining

On my 3rd year as a school caterer, our school directress asked me if I can manage to serve lunch in a fine dining way. When we say fine dining, what comes into our mind is the beautiful setting of the finest utensils on the dining table. With waiter wearing a uniform ( unfortunately Kuya Dong is not wearing his uniform in this photo) and pouring some wine in a stemmed glass. Well, the scenario is somehow the same during our fine dining in school. First, we serve the soup. If there are 4 diners seated in one table, they must allow everyone to finish their food before the next course is served. As they dine, Kuya Dong ( as the kids would call him) will go around and serve the wine. Dessert follows after serving the main course. It is a big challenge for me to do all these since these are kids, they tend to be choosy on food. So whenever they say " this is the best food ever served" ( always comparing to the previous one they had ), it felt rewarding, kasi nga hindi madaling magpakain sa bata, di ba?