Turbo Chicken Recipes

Instead of going over the quotes I have with me and decide on the cheapest car insurance for our car, I searched for turbo chicken recipes I can try.

 

The following is a quick, very common and no-fail way of preparing Turbo Chicken here in the Philippines, using ingredients and spices that are most readily available (read: household staples in this part of the world).

Filipino-style Turbo Chicken


You will need:
* Calamansi (calamondin), 2 pieces, squeezed and seeded
* Toyo (soy sauce), about a tablespoonful will do
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Garlic, a couple of cloves to a full head, depending on your preference
* Sugar (optional)
* a medium-sized raw chicken, thawed
Procedure:

1. Mix all the ingredients (except the chicken) into a marinade. Give the chicken a good rubdown with it, taking care to massage it inside and out. If you prefer a stronger flavor, you can let the chicken soak in the marinade for an hour but this is really not necessary. The strong taste of the soy sauce will already provide it with enough flavor.
2. Place a small baking pan at the bottom of the oven, this will be used to catch the drippings (don’t throw this after the chicken is cooked! You can use it to make gravy, or see the rest of my explanation below). Place the wire rack that comes with the Turbo above the pan and put the chicken on top of it.
3. Cover your turbo broiler. Set the temperature to 180 degrees celsius (or 375 degrees fahrenheit) and set the timer to go off after 45 minutes. The light inside will go on.
4. Keep checking the chicken (through the see-through glass) every 15 minutes or so. If you think it looks dry, get a pastry brush and baste the chicken with some of the drippings.
5. It should be nicely crisp and golden brown after 40 minutes. You can turn it over if you want the underside to be crispy too. Just be careful not to leave it under the broiler for too long.

How to serve Turbo Chicken, Filipino-style
Turbo chicken is usually cut up into pieces, like in the above photo, and served with steamed rice. It’s also commonly served along with the drippings which we Filipinos like to put over our rice (This practice is not very healthy but it’s really delicious. Just be careful not to overdo it.)

 

Chicken Inasal

 

Chicken Inasal is a very flavorful chicken dish that comes from Bacolod City, the capital of Negros Occidental which is a province in Southern Philippines. Unlike the usual Filipino-style "barbecue" or grilled chicken that only uses soy sauce, this dish uses a variety of native ingredients and seasonings for its marinade and basting sauce, giving it a delicious spicy-salty, slightly tangy flavor. Inasal is traditionally cooked over a hot charcoal grill and this method is said to enhance the flavor of the marinade, making the dish tastier. This dish is also known for its yellowish color, achieved through the use of achuete (annatto seed oil).
Chicken inasal has since become popular all over the country including the Philippines’ capital, Metro Manila with many restaurants now serving their own version of the dish. It is commonly served in halves or quarters, still on their wooden skewers and lying on top of a banana leaf. Inasal is usually paired with fried garlic rice and a dip of soy sauce, vinegar, calamansi and if you’re brave, some crushed small red chili peppers.
Authentic inasal preparation is quite fussy but who says you can’t enjoy this delicious dish even when you don’t have the luxury of time? Yes, now you can do it yourself in the comforts of your home. the ubiquitous, all-purpose Turbo Oven has come to the rescue once more.
Turbo Chicken Inasal Recipe
Adapted from the authentic chicken inasal recipe
Serves: 3-6 people
You will need:
1 whole chicken
A marinade made of
1 head garlic, macerated
2 tbsps. chopped ginger
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/3 cup sinamak (native coconut vinegar)
10 pieces calamansi, juice extracted
3 stalks tanglad (lemon grass), juliennes
salt and coarsely ground pepper
Basting Sauce
1/2 cup Star Margarine
1/4 cup achuete (annatto seeds) oil
salt and pepper
large bamboo skewers
charcoal for grilling

Procedure:
1. Mix together garlic, ginger, sinamak vinegar, a small amount of sugar, lemon grass, calamansi juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
2. Rub the chicken with the mixture. (You can choose to leave the chicken whole or cut it up into pieces.)
3. Place chicken in the chiller and let it sit. After 30 minutes, turn the meat and then let it sit for another 30 minutes. It is not ideal to marinate the meat overnight since the acid of the vinegar will completely break down the enzymes of the meat.
4. Meanwhile heat the margarine and annatto seeds in a saucepan over low fire. Continue stirring for a few minutes until the margarine melts and the annatto seeds are well infused and have developed a deep orange color. Turn off the heat and add a small amount of salt and pepper to taste.
5. When the chicken is done marinating, put it on a wire rack and place it inside the turbo oven. Place a pan under the wire rack to catch the drippings.
6. Set the temperature to 180 degrees celsius (375 degrees fahrenheit) and set the timer to 45 minutes.
7. Baste the chicken with leftover marinade every 15 minutes, turning it over every now and then for an even roast. (Don’t worry you can lift the turbo’s cover every now and then and it will continue cooking.)
Serve your Turbo Chicken Inasal hot together with garlic fried rice and sinamak or soy sauce with calamansi and siling labuyo (small red, very hot chili peppers).