Chicken Tinola
intro
A light, warming Filipino ginger chicken soup with tender green papaya and fresh greens, featuring a clear savory broth perfect served over steamed rice.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep all ingredients
Pat 800g chicken pieces dry with paper towels and set aside. Prep aromatics and vegetables: peel and slice 60g ginger into 2mm thin coins, crush 25g garlic, thinly slice 150g yellow onion, peel and cut 400g unripe green papaya into 4cm wedges, and rinse 100g chili leaves and 2 long green chilies to remove surface grit. Measure all remaining ingredients for easy access during cooking.
Saute aromatic base
Heat 30ml neutral canola oil in a 5L heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat (160°C/320°F). Add sliced ginger and saute for 2 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden at the edges, then add crushed garlic and sliced onion, cooking for 3 more minutes until the onion is soft and translucent. Adjust heat if needed to prevent garlic from burning, which will make the broth bitter.
Sear chicken pieces
Increase heat to medium-high (190°C/375°F). Add dried chicken pieces to the pot in a single layer, working in 2 batches if needed to avoid overcrowding the pan. Sear for 3 minutes per side until the skin is lightly golden and fat is rendered, then stir in 45ml fish sauce, scraping the bottom of the pot to lift any browned flavorful bits. Let the fish sauce cook with the chicken for 1 minute to mellow its sharp, salty edge.
Simmer clear broth
Pour 1000ml water into the pot, add the 2 whole long green chilies and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, then bring the liquid to a rolling boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low (90°C/195°F), cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer gently for 18 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to skim any gray foam or scum that rises to the surface every 5 minutes to keep the broth light and clear.
Cook green papaya
Uncover the pot, add the cut 400g green papaya wedges to the simmering broth, and stir gently to fully submerge the pieces. Keep heat on low, re-cover the pot, and cook for 7 minutes until the papaya is crisp-tender. Test doneness by piercing a papaya wedge with a fork; it should slide in with slight resistance, not turn mushy.
Wilt leafy greens
Taste the broth and adjust seasoning with an extra 1 teaspoon of fish sauce if desired, then add the 100g fresh chili leaves, stirring gently to submerge them in the hot broth. Turn off the stovetop heat, cover the pot, and let the residual heat wilt the greens for 2 minutes, so they retain their bright color and fresh texture instead of turning slimy.
Tips
2.Use bone-in, skin-on chicken (thighs or drumsticks work best) instead of boneless, skinless breast, as the bones and skin add rich depth to the broth and keep the meat juicy through simmering.
3.Avoid boiling the soup rapidly after adding vegetables, as high heat will turn the leafy greens dark and mushy, and break down the papaya into soft, unshapely bits.
OMG this tinola is exactly what my lola used to make! I was craving something warm and cozy after a rainy week here in CA and this hit every single note. The ginger isn’t overpowering at all, the green papaya got perfectly tender, and I even tossed in a handful of spinach like I do at home. SO good, already added this to my weekly meal prep rotation!
Made this for family dinner last night and my two picky eaters asked for SECONDS! My kids loved it so much they’ve already asked me to make it again next week. I was worried the green papaya would be too weird for them but they thought it was like a softer, sweeter potato. Only question: can I use chayote if I can’t find green papaya at my local grocery store?
Game changer! I’ve tried a few tinola recipes before and they always skimp on the ginger, but this one has the perfect ratio of ginger to garlic to fish sauce. Brought a big pot to our neighborhood potluck last weekend and people were coming back for thirds. 10/10
Obsessed with how easy this is! 45 minutes total, no fancy ingredients, and it tastes like I spent hours in the kitchen. I used bone-in chicken thighs like the recipe suggested and the broth came out so rich, no extra stock needed. Will be making this all winter long.
Really solid tinola! I added a few sliced Thai chilis to my bowl for a little heat and it was chef’s kiss. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is I wish the recipe noted how to pick a good green papaya—mine was a little too ripe so it got mushy faster than I wanted.
Does this hold up well in the fridge for meal prep? I’m trying to stock my fridge with easy lunches for work this week and this looks like it would be perfect, but I don’t want the veggies to get all soggy after a couple days.
I was home sick with a cold last week and my roommate made this for me, I immediately asked for the recipe. The ginger broth cleared my sinuses so fast and it was so gentle on my upset stomach. Better than any canned soup I’ve ever had, hands down.
First time making Filipino food ever and I was so nervous I’d mess it up! The steps were super straightforward and my husband (who grew up eating tinola) said it tasted exactly like his mom’s. Quick question—what are the leafy greens usually served with this? I used bok choy but I want to make the authentic version next time.
Making this for our work potluck next Friday! How many people does this recipe serve as written? I don’t want to run out, there’s always 20+ people at these things and everyone goes crazy for soup.
This is such a great high-protein, low-effort meal! I swapped the chicken thighs for chicken breast to cut a little fat, used extra ginger, and it still came out so flavorful. Perfect post-workout dinner when I don’t feel like spending an hour cooking after the gym.
I grew green papaya in my backyard this year and had no idea what to do with it! Found this recipe on a whim and it’s now my favorite way to use up my harvest. The whole house smelled like ginger and garlic for hours after cooking, it was heavenly.
So glad this recipe is naturally gluten free! I have celiac and so many Asian soup recipes sneak in soy sauce which I can’t have, but this just uses fish sauce (I used my gluten free fish sauce, obviously) and it was perfect. 10/10, will make again.
Made this in my tiny dorm kitchen with just a single pot and a hot plate! No fancy equipment needed, ingredients were cheap at the local Asian market, and my whole dorm floor smelled so good people were knocking on my door asking for a bowl. Absolute win for a college budget.
I’ve been trying to learn how to make all my dad’s favorite Filipino dishes since he passed last year, and this tinola is spot on. I got a little teary eating it because it tasted exactly like the soup he’d make on rainy weekends when I was a kid. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Wait can I make this in a slow cooker? I love being able to dump everything in before work and come home to a hot dinner, but I don’t want to mess up the texture of the veggies or the flavor of the broth.
It’s finally soup season and this is the first recipe I’m making on repeat. The broth is so bright and gingery, not heavy like a lot of cream-based soups, and the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender when you use thighs like the recipe says. 10/10 no notes.
I was so scared to use fish sauce because I’ve had bad experiences with it being super fishy in other recipes, but I trusted the process and it was so good! It added the perfect savoriness without any weird fishy aftertaste. I’m a convert!
Made this last night and it was incredible! Only mistake I made was adding the greens too early so they got super wilty. Next time I’ll add them right at the end like the recipe says, oops. Quick question: can I use chicken drumsticks instead of thighs? My kids love drumsticks.
Made this for a date night in with my partner who’s Filipino, and I was so nervous I’d mess up a dish they grew up with! They said it was better than the version their tita makes (don’t tell their tita lmao). We ate the whole pot in one sitting with garlic rice, it was perfect.