Chicken inasal
Chicken inasal is a Filipino dish of marinated, grilled and glazed chicken and is often served with boiled rice and fresh calamansi – a tart citrus fruit from Southeast Asia. The dish is best cooked on the barbecue for a smoky, authentic flavour and can be threaded onto skewers and cooked this way if preferred.
The sauce for this dish requires annatto oil, which adds a subtle earthiness and vivid colour. It can be found in specialist retailers, but you can also easily make your own by heating 150ml vegetable oil with a tablespoon of annatto seeds or powder for a few minutes, then straining.
Ingredients
Chicken Inasal
- 8 boneless chicken thighs , skinless
- 50g of lemongrass , roughly chopped
- 30g of garlic , roughly chopped
- 20g of shallots , roughly chopped
- 10g of ginger , roughly chopped
- 20g of annatto oil
- 30g of light soy sauce , or fish sauce
- 20g of palm sugar, grated
- 5 limes , zested and juiced, or calamansi if you can find them
- 100g of sugar
- 100g of water
Sisig sauce
- 100g of mayonnaise
- 20g of annatto oil
- 10g of water
- 1/2 garlic clove , finely grated
- lime juice , fresh, to taste
- salt
- freshly ground white pepper
Chilli powder mix
- 10g of dried red chillies
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 pinch of dried garlic granules
- 1 pinch of crispy shallots
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1/4 lime , zested
To serve
- 1 handful of spring onion greens , finely sliced
Method
Begin by marinating the chicken. Place the lemongrass, garlic, shallots, ginger, soy sauce, palm sugar, annatto oil and the juice and zest of the limes in a food processor and blitz to a paste. Rub this mixture all over the chicken thighs, then cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 4 hours
- 50g of lemongrass , roughly chopped
- 30g of garlic , roughly chopped
- 20g of shallots , roughly chopped
- 10g of ginger , roughly chopped
- 30g of light soy sauce , or fish sauce
- 20g of annatto oil
- 20g of palm sugar, grated
- 5 limes , zested and juiced, or calamansi if you can find them
- 8 boneless chicken thighs , skinless
To make the Sisig sauce, mix the ingredients together, then taste and season with lime juice, salt and pepper. Set aside in a bowl
- 100g of mayonnaise
- 20g of annatto oil
- 10g of water
- 1/2 garlic clove , finely grated
- lime juice , fresh, to taste
- salt
- freshly ground white pepper
To make the red chilli powder, place all the ingredients in a coffee or spice grinder and blitz to a powder. Store in an airtight container
- 10g of dried red chillies
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 pinch of dried garlic granules
- 1 pinch of crispy shallots
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1/4 lime , zested
After the chicken has finished marinating, lift the thighs out of the marinade, reserving as much of it as you can. Pour the marinade into a pan with the water and sugar and bring to the boil. Cook until it has reduced into a syrupy glaze. Reserve most of this glaze for brushing the chicken as it cooks, but add a few tablespoons to the Sisig sauce to give it a vibrant colour. Transfer the sauce to a squeezy bottle if you have one and reserve in the fridge
- 100g of sugar
- 100g of water
The chicken is best cooked on a barbecue or grill, but a griddle pan will work. Once smoking hot, add the chicken to the grill or pan and brush with the glaze. Turn the chicken regularly, brushing with the glaze until it is completely cooked through and lightly charred. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes
To plate, slice the chicken thighs into pieces and drizzle with the Sisig sauce. Sprinkle with the red chilli powder and chopped spring onion to finish
- 1 handful of spring onion greens , finely sliced
Go to Comments
Chicken inasal
