Recipe: Japanese Tinola

The Husband has grown tired of eating Tinola. That's kind of sad because I love Tinola. I still cook it once in a while because I can't help but crave for it, however, I had to think of way for the Husband to love Tinola again.

So yesterday, I went to the newly-opened Daiso in Chinatown (will blog about it soon, promise!) and picked up a few Japanese ingredients that will help me combine my Husband's love for Miso Soup and my love for Tinola. My first experiment at cuisine fusion, I call this my Japanese Tinola recipe.

From Daiso: Starch Noodles (left) and Bonito Soup Stock (right)

From an Asian Supermarket: Shiro Miso (top right)

What you need to prepare:
1 tbsp Canola Oil (or any cooking oil of your choice)
1 tbsp Ginger, chopped
1 medium-sized Onion, chopped
3 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1/2 kilo Chicken Wings
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 pack of Bonito soup stock, dissolved in four cups of water
1 tbsp Shiro Miso
2 pcs Sayote (Chayote/Choko), peeled and sliced 
Starch Noodles (no measurement, I only grabbed a handful, enough for the soup I made, add more if you want your soup more "noodly")
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Additional water if you want your dish to have more sou

What you need to do:

1. Saute onion, garlic and ginger in oil.
2. Add the chicken and fish sauce. 
3. Stir then leave for a few minutes to let the chicken's natural juice to come out.
4. Add the Bonito soup stock and Shiro Miso, stir again until liquid is free of lumps.
5. Cover the pot, bring to boil then let it simmer in medium heat until chicken is cooked (25-30 minutes).
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add the sliced Sayote and leave for another 10 minutes. 

Tips: 

• Serve in a bowl with fish sauce, soy sauce with lemon/calamansi or chili with lemon and soy sauce. 
• Perfect companion to steam rice.
• You can add/change vegetable ingredients to Green Papaya (Pawpaw) or Malunggay leaves. I sometimes use Chinese Cabbage too. 

Serves 3 people.

This fusion experiment proved to be successful. The Husband loved it, he cheerfully ate his Tinola and even went for a second serving. I'm glad I was able to to create a version of Tinola where you can harmoniously taste the combined flavours of ginger, miso and bonito. Suddenly, I have my own version of Tinola that's a little more exciting that usual.