Asadong Manok : AFF Philippines

When I served this Asadong Manok, I imagined that this conversation would take place at the dinner table :

Him : (looking curiously at the Asadong Manok) Hamik lai? (what is this?)

Me : This is Asadong Manok.

Him : From Terengganu one, ah?

Me : (aiyah this fellow ah...) No, this is a Filipino dish.

Him : (asking gleefully) U phian lang boh? (Got bluff people or not?)

Me : (aiyah this fellow ah...) No, this is really a Filipino dish.

I never know what to expect from my partner when I cook a foreign dish (this includes my Terengganu mari dishes) and I try to anticipate his reaction. I do worry. When he took his first mouthful and went "Hmmm!!", I knew I could relax.

When I looked at this recipe, I figured that it was a tomato based chicken stew. But for 1kg of chicken only 2 tomatoes are used and there was no mention of tomato puree or tomato sauce. It was only later when I checked the video on YouTube that I noted tomato sauce was one of the ingredients. That's the risk of cooking something that you have never eaten before and there is always a risk that the recipe is incomplete. Anyway, I adjusted the seasoning by adding some tomato ketchup because the taste was not quite right.

My partner kept digging in. He was clearly relishing the Asadong Manok whereas the dish was just OK for me. Maybe it was a case of the person doing the cooking usually does not enjoy the food as much. I reckon that it would taste better the next day as most stews do. But there was no way of finding out because this was what was left of my maiden Asadong Manok :

Boh liao!

I felt like giving my partner a medal :) Before washing my pyrex dish, I decided to just finish up the gravy. Waste not, want not. Good grief! It tasted so good! Too late hah...hah...

Please check the recipe and video here should you want to try this dish. The recipe I am giving below is my adaptation of the incomplete recipe because that was what I actually cooked that evening.

Asadong Manok
Recipe source : Adapted from Panlasang Pinoy Meaty Recipes

Ingredients :
- 3 chicken legs, drumstick and thighs separated
- 1/8 cup vinegar
- 2 tbsp soya sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, pounded
- 2 big onions, sliced
- 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
- 4 potatoes, quartered
- 1 small red pepper, sliced
- 1 small green pepper, sliced
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- cooking oil
- 1 cup tomato ketchup

Method :
1. Combine chicken pieces with vinegar, soya sauce, pepper and garlic. Let stand for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and fry potatoes until golden brown.
3. Saute onions until slightly brown and add tomatoes. Saute until tomatoes are mushy.
4. Drain chicken pieces and stir fry in the onion and tomatoes.
5. Add paprika, bay leaf, pepper and simmer for 30 minutes until chicken is tender.
6. Add red and green pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes.
7. Add tomato ketchup and adjust for seasoning.
8. Add the fried potatoes and serve.

Note : I did not add water because the chicken released enough water. I also thickened the gravy using cornflour.