Recipe: Ilocos Sur's Chicken Pipian
MANILA, Philippines — Before he took on a very important role in the local politics of Ilocos Sur, Vigan City Mayor Jose "Bonito" Singson hosted a group of media friends to help promote Vigan, as it was then in the running for the New 7 Wonders-Cities of the World honor.
He was then consultant of Hotel Felicidad, where the group was billeted. The hotel was just a stone’s throw away from Vigan’s famous cobblestoned Calle Crisologo. So was Casa Caridad, the Singsons’ ancestral house, where the group had most of their meals, feasting on the best that Ilocos had to offer as prepared by Singson’s trusted family cook, Manang Tita.
She cooks a mean Chicken Pipian, an Ilocano dish that is similar to Kare-Kare, but with chicken replacing the ox tail and tripes and with ground rice taking the place of ground peanuts (or peanut butter). It has a certain sourness or tartness similar to sinigang, though, and this comes from the pasotes leaves (a.k.a. epazote), which can be found only in Ilocos Sur.
Manang Tita was cooking for a group of 15, and so this recipe uses 3 kilograms of chicken. Simply scale down to cook smaller batches.
Chicken Pipian
INGREDIENTS:
3 kgs. whole chicken, cut up
1/2 kg. rice, toasted, cooled and then ground
5 cups achuete (annatto) water*
2 big pcs. ginger, peeled, roughly cut up and crushed
8 tbsps. patis (fish sauce)
6 liters water
4 cups fresh kamias, washed and sliced
5 packs sinigang mix, 20 grams per pack
Pasotes leaves, picked from stem and washed
PROCEDURE:
1. Heat a large vat or wok. Add the chicken pieces and cook until browned.
2. In a bowl, place the ground rice and pour in achuete water (*prepared by soaking achuete or annatto seeds in water until water takes on the orange color of the seeds, then strain and discard seeds).
3. Mix the achuete water into the ground rice, then pour in more achuete water.
4. Add the crushed ginger into the chicken in the wok. Mix in and cook for a few minutes to allow the flavors of the ginger to come out.
5. Season with fish sauce.
6. Pour in water. Let boil.
7. Add kamias, then season with sinigang mix to enhance the flavor.
8. Add in the achuete and toasted rice mixture. Mix well. Cook until slightly thickened. Add the pasotes leaves just before serving.
*Serves 15 to 18.
