FOOD FAVORITES: Tinola

Tinola is among the Tagalog’s favorite dish. It is soup based, served as a main entrée and is traditionally cooked with chicken, slices of green papaya and siling labuyo leaves in broth flavored with ginger garlic, onion and patis. Being Tagalogs, it too is a top favorite among Calambeños. In fact it was mentioned in Rizal’s novel “Noli Me Tangere,” where Crisostomo Ibarra, the novel’s main character was served Tinolang Manok with the chicken’s best parts, to the envy of the other Spanish Friar guests.

It is a tradition among Calamba families to serve the head of the family the best part (Chicken breast) The youngest child gets the drumstick, the elder brothers the thigh, and the elder sisters and the mother gets the wings, the back, and giblets (Neck, liver, and gizzards). Back in those days, chickens were slaughtered direct from the coop. No dressed chicken or chicken choice parts were sold in the market. If one is considered the guest of honor if seated at the head table, so is the one served with the best chicken part.

It is a mystery where the dish got its name or what “Tinola” literally mean. I suppose it came from the word “Tinale,” a leashed cock being trained for cockfighting. It is traditional that the losing cock is slaughtered after the fight and is brought home by the winner for dinner. And since Tinola’s ingredient can easily be found in a typical Filipino backyard it is cooked to become the amazing soup.

Mothers in Calamba cook Tinola during lunchtime on weekends when the family is complete, when a child celebrates birthdays, when someone in the family has fever, or when the family has a special guest. Tinola is also an emergency dish, hurriedly cooked when more guests come and there is less food in the kitchen. A neighbor when I was young had Tinola as his last will. He died after his Tinola meal.