Say what?
I bet you cringed at the sound of chicken and papaya combined. Even more so thinking of them mixed in the form of a soup. But before you swipe right to the next recipe, imagine for a moment that the papaya is acorn squash. Surprisingly, the texture and taste mimic that of cooked gourd.
Papaya supply
The next thing you might be wondering is how in the world did I come up with this combination. The answer is simple. We planted a papaya tree last year and it started blossoming this past fall and those blossoms quickly turned into papaya fruit. Fast forward a few months and we had our first harvest of about half a dozen papayas (with more on the way). For what’s it’s worth, I’m not a huge fan of papaya, except for the fact that it reminds me of living in the Philippines where I grew a papaya tree as a kid. But, more on that another time.
Last week, the first of the crop was picked. Half of them were still green and the other half ripe. Sharing the bounty with one of my horse boarders, who used to travel often to the Caribbean islands working as a stew on a private yacht, asked me what I planned on doing with all the papayas. I told her they were not really a favorite in our household but I would probably end up peeling, seeding and dicing them, then flavoring them with squirt of fresh lime juice (a trick a Yemenite friend taught me).
Chicken and Papaya Soup
She suggested that I make chicken and papaya soup, which she had experienced on many Caribbean islands. Yes, I also cringed at the thought but she assured me that I would be pleasantly surprised.
I immediately went to work searching for chicken and papaya recipes. Expecting a number of Jamaican and Bahamian versions of the dish, I was surprised to see no Caribbean recipes, but rather a number of Filipino and a few Hawaiian versions of the soup. It really shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. I spent nearly 7 years in the tropical climate of the Philippines. We were surrounded by an abundance of papaya (coconut, guava and other tropical fruit) trees.
Tinola manok
Tinola manok is Tagalog (Filipino language) for chicken and papaya soup. Their traditional recipe calls for the use of green papaya (many Indian recipes do as well) and includes hot pepper, fish sauce and ginger to give it an Asian base flavoring.
Recipe
My recipe substitutes ripe for green papaya and trades the Asian flavors for a more savory vegetable and chicken soup base. I also added a number of additional vegetables, such as onion, cauliflower, carrots and tomato to give it a thicker and heartier viscosity – because it’s winter time.
Chicken and Papaya Soup (Tinola)
DESCRIPTION
INGREDIENTS
- 2 lbs chicken pieces ((legs, breasts, and/or quarters))
- 1 papaya (peeled, seeded and cubed)
- 3 carrots (peeled and sliced)
- 1 onion (peeled and quartered)
- 1 tomato (peeled and diced)
- ½ head cauliflower (cleaned, and trimmed into small florets)
- 3 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt (to taste)
- ½ tsp ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 lime juice (juice a whole lime)
- 8 cups water (or enough to cover all ingredients in pot)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ bunch fresh cilantro (washed and chopped)
- ½ bunch fresh parsley (wash and chopped)
- 3 chicken consomme (cubes)
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large pot, heat oil and fry chicken pieces until light brown – about 3 minutes each side. Add quartered onion and garlic and fry until translucent.
- Add chicken consomme cubes and crush while frying for a minute. Stir.
- Add all other ingredients, except for cilantro and parsley. Cover and bring to boil.
- Add parsley and cilantro, cover and reduce heat to low for 30 minutes.
- Remove chicken, let cool enough to shred, then replace back into pot. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve hot.
NUTRITION
Chicken and papaya soup results
The soup was as simple as any vegetable and chicken soup is to make. And the result was nothing short of outstanding! The papaya chunks that I was most skeptical of, ended up being one of the best additions to the soup. In fact, I can’t imagine having a vegetable soup without papaya again. It was THAT good. The sweetness and sliminess of the papaya are non-traceable. The papaya truly takes on the flavor of the chicken soup and the texture of acorn squash. It was a win-win all around. I hope you will give it a try as well!
And if you’re not quite ready for papaya in your soup yet, don’t forget to try out my other soup recipes here.
Salamat po! Thank you!
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