Winner, winner Inasal for dinner!
Chicken Inasal hails from the western Visayas region (mid west) of the Philippines. While the region is most popular for for its beaches like Boracay, its food treasures are yet to be discovered by the rest of the world.
Locals know that the best grilled chicken in the Philippines comes from Bacolod. As a child, this dish was not available in Metro Manila and I used to get my fix each summer when I would fly to Bacolod to visit my grandparents.
For a strange reason, specific dishes get imbedded into our memories. These memories are often attached with emotional connections to our childhood. This dish takes me back to my carefree summers spent at my grandparents farm where the biggest decision for the day would be to go fishing or ride a carabao. Inasal would often be my final meal before I was loaded back onto the plane to Manila.
The dish Inasal refers to young chicken marinated in vinegar, calamansi (Philippine lime), lemongrass, and basted with annato oil and many variations thereof.
The combination of annato oil, chef's grill skills and the mallaird reaction make a holy trinity to give you the perfect grilled chicken.
The skill of the chef is crucial to give you the right char to doneness ratio. The annato oil gives you that peppery-musk and mallaird reaction gives you the perfect crust.
The dish has gained popularity over that past decade and there have been many places popping up across Metro Manila serving their version of Inasal. To find the best one in the metropolis, my advise is to avoid the fast food franchises like bird flu is in season and head straight to Aida's.
"Inasal"
For many years the Visayans have kept this dish secret . The dish has taken off in the past few years but sadly they have been "ersatz" versions. A bit like drinking decaf coffee -- it's "coffee" but it's not really coffee.
Many entrepreneurs have tried to introduce this dish to the rest of the Philippines and have failed to come up with credible alternatives. Franchises have also jumped into the fray and fabricated their "fast-food" version of the dish.
From a Filipino culinary perspective, the franchises have done much damage to the reputation of chicken inasal akin to what illegal loggers have done. Franchises are robbing our children of their culinary heritage.
How to order Chicken like a local:
- Don't say chicken inasal just say "inasal".
- Ask for pa-a (leg) or pe-cho (breast)
Sinamak
Sinamak is a dipping sauce for the chicken.
Every household in the Visayas region will inevitably have their own version of the Sinamak. A concoction of vinegar, garlic, chile, peppercorns and the kitchen sink! At our house, we had three versions of Sinamak- Dad's, mine and everyone else's.
How to rock a sinamak!
Crush a bird's eye chilli in the soy sauce dish, pour some Sinamak into the dish and add a touch of soy sauce et voila!
Wall Art at Aida's
- Fly to Bacolod or Iloilo for the real deal
- In metro manila go to: Aida's at Makati Square, Don Chino Roces Avenue
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