Name: Chicken Binakol
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Philippines
Ingredients: 4 cups buko juice (from about 4 coconuts, or drained from the frozen buko); 2 stalks lemongrass, smashed and quartered lengthwise; One 3½-pound chicken, cut into pieces; 1 large onion, quartered; 1 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus additional to taste; 2 sticks fresh bamboo (about 4 inches long, 1 inch thick), (optional); 1 stalk rhubarb, cut into 4 pieces (or substitute ¼ cup lemon juice); 1 medium tomato, quartered; 2 cups buko meat sliced from about 4 coconuts, or use frozen shredded buko, thawed and drained, juice reserved; 4 scallion(s), cut into 2-inch lengths; One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned; 4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Appears in

Memories of Philippine Kitchens

By Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan

Published 2006

About

Remedios “Aling Reming” Sugon, a successful caterer and restaurant owner in Bacolod, generously spent an entire morning demonstrating this dish to us in a makeshift kitchen under the atrium of the Negros Museum. Aling Reming learned to cook the original chicken binakol from her mother, using a bamboo tube as a cooking vessel for chicken, young coconut, and herbs. The tube was sealed with lemongrass, covered with a banana leaf, and tied securely with string. A hole would be dug in the ground