gloreden: Cabatuan, Iloilo Specialty

Tinuom,-Cabatuan delicacY

Tinuom is a popular delicacy in Cabatuan. In fact, the Tinuom festival was created because of the popularity of the dish. The dish is composed of native chicken bits, tomatoes, tanglad and chopped onions. The dish is cooked by wrapping it in banana leaves and heated in a clay pot. The tinuom tastes a bit like tinola but less salty and the banana leaves gives the dish its own distinctive taste.

If you happen to drop by Cabatuan, be sure to try the dish at Leah’s Tinuom. It is a quaint and cozy carinderia right beside Cabatuan public market. A bowl of tinuom costs 50 pesos and comes with a cup of rice. Aside from its original Tinuom dish, there’s grilled squid and other turo-turo dishes.

Tinuom Recipe

Tinuom Ingredients

Bumbay/Sibuyas (Onion)
Kamatis (Tomato)
Tanglad (Lemon Grass)
Vetsin (MSG-monosodium glutamate)
Asin (Salt)
Tubig (water)
Native Chicken – must be 7-14 months old.
Banana Leaves
Bamboo string or any string for tying up the tinu-om
2 bowls for preparation

There are 5 easy steps:

In one bowl, place the chicken and season it with onion, tomato, vetsin and the salt and then add some water. The 7-14 month old chickens will have to boil for about 30 minutes for it to be ready for serving. Older chickens will take almost an hour. One order of tinu-om would have 3-4 pieces.
In another bowl prepare the banana leaves to be used for the wrap. Use Saba banana leaves rather than other kinds of banana leaf. It affects the flavor, aroma and outcome of the Tinu-om.
Eventually, pour the marinated chicken into the bowl lined with banana leaf, gather the edges and tie it with a bamboo string or any piece of string. Make sure that it won’t leak.
After tying it up, place it in a casserole full of water and then place it on fire. You may steam it but you can place it within the water casserole for a better result when it comes to taste. Then wait.

Credit goes to iloveiloilo for the recipe:
http://iloveiloilo.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/leahs-tinuom/