Chargrilled Chicken Thighs, photo by Ruben Ortega
Chargrilled Chicken Thighs, A Filipino Recipe
Inihaw na manok, photo by Ruben Ortega
Like most Asian countries, street food is big business in the Philippines. I supposed because they are delicious and the smell alone is enough to stop you on your tracks and sample the appetising array of grilled and fried food. Barbecues are particularly popular being portably served in skewers.
If you are craving for a Filipino chicken barbecue, here is a recipe of an authentic one you can try at home or in your garden now that summer season is fast approaching.
By the way those delectable photos above are from my good friend, Ruben, from high school, way back many years ago in the Philippines. Ruben always had a knack for cooking up delicious treats.
The recipe:
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1 lemon or 2 limes or 4 calamansi (Filipino citrus fruit), juiced
- 1tsp brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup banana ketchup or tomato ketchup (I prefer the banana ketchup, I must admit, because it has extra added heat by the addition of chilli)
- Bamboo or steel skewers
Method of Preparations
- In a ceramic or glass dish, arrange the chicken thighs.
- Take time to marinate the meat for a better tasting offering. Make the marinade up by mixing the soy sauce, lemon juice, banana ketchup, garlic, sugar and ground black pepper.
- Stir to mix thoroughly and then pour all over the chicken. Really stir the marinade in. Leave to marinate for at least or an hour or preferably overnight inside the fridge.
- When the chicken had soaked in the lovely marinade, it is time to fire up the charcoal grill.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and push the chicken thighs through skewers and bang them into the grill. Ensure not to throw the marinade.
- As the chicken cooks through, brush them with the marinade. Chicken takes time to cook, you have to watch carefully that they do not burn at the outside and yet uncooked inside. Just keep testing that the juice is clear and no sigh of blood. 🙂
- Remove from the grill and transfer to a serving plate.
- Serve with rice or salad or both!