The Happy Home Cook: Pinaupong Manok

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Pinaupong Manok (Photo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino)

Pinaupong Manok in Tagalog simply means the sitting chicken. And that is how easy it is to cook this classic Filipino dish. As a child, I watched how my late mother Lulu Reyes Besa placed a whole roasting chicken on a deep bed of salt, stuffed the cavity with onions, seasoned the bird, and roasted it. This is a family recipe of my mother with chicken and salt as the staple ingredients. I have always admired its simplicity, which to my surprise yields tasty, savory flavors.

*Reprinted with permission from the memoir Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter’s Reflections On Her Mother’s Bravery by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino.

Servings 4

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 pounds
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 cups + 1 teaspoon salt
1 medium-sized (5 to 10 ounces) onion, chopped
4 scallion stalks, white and green parts separated; chop the greens for garnish
Steamed rice, for serving

Side Dipping Sauce:

¼ cup toyo (soy sauce)
Juice of 1 whole lemon

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Wash the chicken thoroughly and pat dry with  a paper towel.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the dry rub: garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and 1 teaspoon of salt. Rub the seasoning blend all over the chicken.

Stuff the chicken with the onions and scallion whites.

Pour about 5 cups of salt in a 9 x 13-inch roasting pan or other pan large enough to fit the whole chicken. Level off the salt to make a flat, even bed, about ½-inch thick.

Place the chicken, breast side up, on top of the bed of salt.

Cover the pan tightly with foil. Roast the chicken for 2 hours and 40 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and carve into serving pieces.

Discard the salt bed.

Garnish the carved chicken with the chopped scallion greens.

Serve warm with steamed rice, and a side dipping sauce of soy sauce combined with lemon juice.

Note:  To check if the chicken is cooked, pierce or make a small cut in the thickest part of the thigh. The meat should not be red or pink and the juices should run clear. If the meat is still pink, return the chicken to the oven and cover loosely with foil. Roast for 5 minutes intervals at 375 F till the meat is cooked.

If using a thermometer to check if the chicken is cooked, the internal temperature should read at least 75 C/ 167 F.

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Elizabeth Ann Quirino, is an award-winning journalist, food writer, and cookbook author. Her next book is Every Ounce of Courage, a memoir, is now available. Find her on TheQuirinoKitchen.com.

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