Hello guys…I am back! I truly miss sharing my well-loved recipes to you and today I will share my family’s favorite homemade chicken tocino. It’s been almost four months since I posted anything on the blog.
To be honest, I actually thought about quitting but because many of you reached out and requested to continue with what I am doing, so here I am. Thank you for believing that I have something good to offer. I am truly humbled.
For the last several months, I’ve been going thru some health issues especially with my hands. I have chronic CTS (carpal tunnel syndrome) that is affecting my ability to grab objects. I’ve been in pain and couldn’t hold anything longer than 30 seconds.
I know that many of you keep coming back to my blog because I present my recipe in a step-by-step format with photos. This has become a challenge to me since I have to hold my camera steady to take the pictures.
The second reason I wanted to quit is due to my hectic schedule. I thought maintaining this blog is too much work for me. For those of you who don’t know yet, I have two children diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). It’s tough to take care of four children, two of them with special needs, while I have a handicap myself.
But I am determined to overcome challenges thrown at me. I prayed and asked guidance what to do with my blog, and I received an answer to keep at it and I will receive the necessary help I need.
So I move on in faith and believe that my efforts are not in vain. I’ll try to post one recipe a week and continue to share more meal ideas that I personally love and tested in the days to come.
So, for today’s recipe, let me show you how I make chicken tocino. Believe it or not, it is very easy and only require a few ingredients. And what’s great about it is the absence of harmful additives found in commercial tocinos.
We, Filipinos, love this sweet-salty-tangy breakfast item with our sinangag and fried eggs. My kids can’t get enough of these, I tell ya! 🙂
Anyway, just some quick notes. It’s best to use boneless chicken thigh meat for this recipe. They’ll yield a more tender and flavorful tocino because it has more fat compared to chicken breast.
But I’m not saying you can’t use the latter. As you can see in this recipe, I’m using chicken breast meat because that’s what I have at the moment. Take note that I use coarse salt which has bigger granules and not the regular table salt. If you prefer the regular table salt, reduce the quantity by half or you’ll end up with a very salty tocino.
My advice is to cure the meat for about two days in the coldest section in your refrigerator to allow the marinade to tenderize the meat. Lastly, when it’s time to fry them up, avoid overcooking or they’ll turn hard and rubbery.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless chicken thigh or breast
1 cup pineapple juice
1 1/2 Tbsp coarse Kosher salt
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
2 tsp annatto/achuete powder (for coloring)
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
Tools/Materials You’ll Need:
Chef knife/fillet knife
Cutting board
2 mixing bowls
Whisk or fork
Airtight container (for storing the meat for curing)
Shallow frying pan
Kitchen turner or tong
Procedure:
1. Slice the meat into 1/4 inch thick fillets.
2. Place into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine pineapple juice, salt, sugar, and achuete powder.
4. Pour mixture onto sliced meat and soak the meat with the marinade. Cover with a tight lid and allow to cure in the fridge overnight or up to two days.
5. To fry: heat up a shallow skillet with a little bit of oil over medium high heat. Remove chicken pieces one at a time and place onto hot pan. Fry both sides until golden brown about 5-10 minutes.
6. Serve with rice and enjoy!
- 2 lbs boneless chicken thigh or breast
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1½ Tbsp coarse Kosher salt
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 2 tsp annatto/achuete powder (for coloring)
- ½ cup vegetable oil for frying
- Tools/Materials You'll Need:
- Chef knife/fillet knife
- Cutting board
- 2 mixing bowls
- Whisk or fork
- Airtight container (for storing the meat for curing)
- Shallow frying pan
- Kitchen turner or tong
- Slice the meat into ¼ inch thick fillets.
- Place into a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine pineapple juice, salt, sugar, and achuete powder.
- Pour mixture onto sliced meat and soak the meat with the marinade. Cover with a tight lid and allow to cure in the fridge overnight or up to two days.
- To fry: heat up a shallow skillet with a little bit of oil over medium high heat. Remove chicken pieces one at a time and place onto hot pan. Fry both sides until golden brown about 5-10 minutes.
- Serve with rice and enjoy!
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So sorry to hear about your hands. Sounds like a really good recipe. Thanks for hanging in there.
Thank you very much! It’s been a while since I visited your blog. I have a lot of catching up to do. 🙂