According to Joseph Salazar the Sinampalukang Manok is perhaps the most under-rated Filipino dish of all time. I like it, a lot. It’s the perfect soup for these rainy december days when all you crave for is a nice sour broth that washes off the palate. This dish’s name is taken from the use of the sampaloc (hence the word sinampalukan, which literally means infused with tamarind) in flavoring the soup—a popular method in making sinigang , the Philippine sour soup. You can say the sinampalukang manok is the chicken version of sinigang, which commonly uses proteins such as pork, fish and shrimp. As to how they are different baffles me. For now, the only difference I see is in the sinampalukang manok’s use of tamarind leaves which gives off a really lovely aroma on top of the tamarind broth.
When me and family go to Gapan this is a common dish there and one thing that makes this unique from other dishes. The use native chicken for the meat.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut into eighths
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium-size Onion, sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ginger, julienned
2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce)
1 pack sinigang sa sampaloc mix or ½ cup fresh tamarind paste
4 cups water
1 cup sliced string beans
1 cup sili (chili) leaves
1 cup sampaloc leaves
Procedure
Saute garlic in oil until light brown. Add the onion and ginger. Fry the chicken and season with a tablespoon of fish sauce until the chicken turns light brown.
Add the tamarind paste or sinigang mix and let its flavors seep into the chicken for about half a minute. Add the water and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the size of the chicken. Add the rest of the fish paste. You can season the broth to your liking by adding more fish sauce or salt.
Add the vegetables starting with the string beans and let it cook for about a minute. Add the sili and tamarind leaves and let simmer for a minute before turning it off. Serve with freshly cooked and steaming hot rice.
Delicious foods in Gapan, Nueva Ecija 