Binakol―a brothy soup made with hen, coconut water, tender younger coconut meat, contemporary moringa, lemongrass, and ginger―originates from the island of Panay, the place I’m from, within the central Philippines. This fragrant soup has delicate candy notes from the coconut, floral hints from the lemongrass, and is barely bitter from the addition of moringa leaves (often known as the horseradish tree). 

The phrase, binakol, is a Kiniray-a culinary time period (a dialect indigenous to Panay) for cooking meals inside a bamboo tube. (It’s additionally believed to be derived from bakol, a Hiligaynon phrase―a dialect spoken within the Western Visayas area― which implies “to spank,” indicating that the hen is actually spanked earlier than it’s cooked to enhance its taste. Belief me, no chickens have been spanked when testing this recipe). Historically Darag, a local hen identified for its leaner texture and richer taste, is used. The cut-up hen is positioned into hollowed-out bamboo tubes (a halved coconut shell may be used) with coconut juice, coconut meat, inexperienced papaya, lemongrass, ginger, and moringa, or generally chile pepper, leaves, and cooked over an open hearth which infuses the soup with a barely smoky taste. Chayote, a pale inexperienced fruit with a mildly candy cucumber-like taste, was launched into the Filipino delicacies throughout Spanish colonization and infrequently replaces the inexperienced papaya―a swap I’ve referred to as for right here. 

Binakol is remarkably just like tinola, a preferred Filipino soup strewn with tender hen and pungent ginger that depends on rice wash―the starchy water used to scrub rice―or simply plain water, as an alternative of coconut water, because the liquid. Different variations of tinola add carrots, potatoes, or a souring agent, equivalent to unripe tamarind, batwan (an astringent-tasting fruit that resembles a inexperienced tomato), or bilimbi (a inexperienced bitter fruit).

My recipe is an interpretation of binakol, altered to accommodate availability of sure substances within the US whereas sustaining the fundamental taste profile. First, I do with out the bamboo tubes and open hearth and prepare dinner the substances in a Dutch oven on the stovetop, streamlining its preparation. I exploit toasted shredded unsweetened coconut, as an alternative of contemporary coconut meat, to spice up the coconut taste. I combine in spinach, moderately than moringa, to duplicate its barely bitter style. (Whereas moringa is on the market in powder, frozen, or dried types in most Asian and Filipino markets, it doesn’t ship the identical grassy, peppery taste as contemporary leaves). Lastly, I smash lemongrass stalks, moderately than chop them, to tone down their citrusy taste. 

Served by itself or alongside cooked white rice, a bowl of steaming binakol is ideal for when it’s chilly outdoors, though Filipinos are inclined to take pleasure in it year-round. I encourage you to assist your self to a bowl, in any climate.

March 2022