Pininyahang Manok

Pininyahang Manok roughly means “chicken cooked in pineapple”.  This is a popular dish in the Philippines, and is cooked in a variety of ways.  I specifically like the version with coconut milk.

It’s Sunday and we still decided to stay home until the rest of the flood has completely subsided.  We had some chicken thighs and the freezer and as I was trying to decide what to make of it, I saw 2 cans of pineapple in the cupboard.  *lighbulb moment* ahhh, pininyahang manok!  The dish is quite simple and there are only a few basic ingredients involved that you can probably readily find around the kitchen.  So, here’s my personal take on it.

I first marinated the chicken thighs in the pineapple syrup for a few minutes.  Aside from enhancing the flavor of the chicken, I read somewhere that pineapple juice is a natural meat tenderizer; hence, the marinade helped completely thaw the chicken.  Afterwards, I put the chicken in the pan along with some of the pineapple syrup marinade and cooked it until the chicken skin slightly browned and the marinade evaporated.  Then, I set aside the chicken.

After ridding the pan of the chicken fat which oozed out fo the chicken earlier, I put in some canola oil and sauteed 2 cloves of pounded Ilocos garlic (very pungent compared to the normal garlic found in grocery stores) and chopped white onion for about 2 minutes.  Then, I put back in the chicken, then added the rest of the ingredients — leftover pineapple syrup marinade, pineapple chunks, 1 chopped carrot, some coconut milk, 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce, and pepper.  After mixing it a little, I let it simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced and the chicken is sufficiently cooked.  If you want the chicken to be really cooked to the bone, allow the dish to simmer a little longer on low heat.

Since it was my first time to actually make the dish on my own, I was slightly nervous about the outcome.  Surprisingly, it turned out good and my Dear liked it!  It was sweet and the coconut milk really melded well with the pineapple.