Day of Valor - Philippines

This week, we are observing Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) which is a public holiday in the Philippines.  It marks the day in 1942, in the Japanese occupied Philippines, that Major General Edward P. King, of the US Army, was forced to surrender more than 76,000 Filipino, Chinese and American troops to the Japanese.  The surrendered soldiers were made to hike 90 miles to Camp O’Donnell, during which, thousands of prisoners died due to starvation, disease and dehydration.  Despite the hardships, this event played a pivotal role in preventing the Japanese from taking control of all US bases in the Pacific during WWII and it eventually led to the liberation of the Philippines.

After celebrating Easter last weekend and Día de Malvinas last week, I decided that I have had more than enough pork to last for quite some time.  Therefore, when searching for Filipino recipes, I wanted to find something that was chicken based.  I was having a hard time deciding on what to make when I came upon a Filipino barbecue recipe on myfilipinorecipes.com.  The recipe I found was actually written for barbecue pork skewers but I decided to substitute chicken.

Filipino Chicken Barbecue is an incredibly easy recipe to make and it requires very little hands-on time.  You do want to set aside some time the evening before so you can mix everything up and allow the chicken to marinate overnight.  I mixed all of the marinade ingredients in a standard 8-cup mixing bowl and combined well with a whisk.  Then I cut the chicken into strips and mixed them in with the rest of the ingredients.  From there, it went into the refrigerator to sit for 24 hours and soak up all of the yummy flavors.

It is worth mentioning that this recipe is not for vampires or someone who does not like garlic.  Also, if you have a big presentation to make at work or school the next day, you may want to wait and make this another day.  If you have to work closely with people you don’t like very well, go ahead and make this.  They will probably keep their distance.  Additionally, if you are like me and you LOVE all things garlic, this recipe is definitely for you.  It calls for one head of garlic, crushed – Not one clove, ONE ENTIRE HEAD OF GARLIC!!!  Anything made with that much garlic is A-OK in my book.

I also want to note the importance of pre-soaking the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.  Your recipe will still come out fine if you forget to pre-soak.  If you do soak your bamboo skewers prior to grilling on them, they will not turn to charcoal on your grill and the meat will be easier to remove from them when it comes time to eat.  Obviously, this is not an issue if you use metal skewers. 

We absolutely loved our chicken skewers.  By marinating for a full 24 hours, the flavors were able to fully develop and mingle.  I served ours with a side of Garlic Rice (recipe to come).

Filipino Chicken Barbecue

Serves 6 – 8

Marinade Ingredients

·        1 head garlic, crushed

·        ½ cup soy sauce

·        ½ cup banana ketchup or tomato ketchup

·        ¼ cup 7-Up, Sprite or other non-diet lemon lime soda

·        3 tablespoons lemon juice

·        ¼ tablespoon ground black pepper

·        3 tablespoons brown sugar

·        2 tablespoons peanut butter

Other Ingredients

·        2 pounds chicken thighs or breasts, cut into strips

·        8 Bamboo skewers, pre-soaked in water for 30 minutes

Marinate for at least 24 hours.

Directions

1.    Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl, whisking to make sure that the peanut butter is fully incorporated. 

2.   Reserve 1/3 cup of marinade and store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

3.   Add chicken to the remaining marinade and stir to make sure all pieces are fully coated and submerged.

4.   Place marinade/chicken mixture in the refrigerator and allow to rest for at least 24 hours.

5.   Preheat and clean grill.

6.   Using the pre-soaked bamboo skewers, skew the chicken.

7.   Discard the marinade that the chicken rested in.

8.   Place chicken skewers on the grill and baste with the reserved marinade as they cook.

9.   Serve hot.

Ready for the grill

What is your favorite cuisine?  Comment below and let me know!