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Filipino

Chicken tinola

Non-vegetarian

A clean, gingery Filipino chicken soup with chayote or green papaya and leafy greens, seasoned with fish sauce — the comfort food of rainy days.

Chicken tinola is a Filipino soup from Philippines, ready in about 1 hour and made with fresh ginger, chicken pieces, skin-on and chayote. It serves 5 and is rated easy to cook.

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A serving of Tinola
Representative photo. Anne Molina / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
45 min
Total
1 h
Serves
5
Level
Easy
Calories
491

Ingredients

5 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oil in a pot and fry the ginger, onion (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) until fragrant and soft.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Add the chicken and fish sauce (opens in a new tab) and cook, turning, until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside.

    • 6 min
    • medium heat

  3. Step 3

    Pour in the water, bring to the boil, skim, then simmer until the chicken is tender.

    • 25 min
    • low heat

  4. Step 4

    Add the chayote (opens in a new tab) and simmer until just tender. Season with pepper (opens in a new tab) and salt.

    • 8 min
    • medium-low heat

    Food safety: Cook chicken until no pink remains and the juices run clear (74 °C in the thickest part).

  5. Step 5

    Turn off the heat, stir in the greens to wilt and serve with rice.

    • 1 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Philippines · Well documentedMore food from Philippines
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups · Main courses
Cooking method
Simmered, Sautéed
Taste
mild, aromatic / warmly spiced, savoury, fresh
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Everyday · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Fresh ginger · Chicken pieces, skin-on · Chayote · Onion · Garlic · Fish sauce
Techniques
Sautéing · Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Fishfrom fish sauce
  • May contain: Crustaceansfrom fish sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

491 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 607 g · recipe makes 5

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 32%
  • Carbohydrate 6%
  • Fat 61%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy491 kcal81 kcal
Protein39.3 g6.5 g
Carbohydrate7.6 g1.3 g
Net carbohydrate5.8 g1 g
Sugars2.2 g0.4 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre1.8 g0.3 g
Fat33.1 g5.4 g
Saturated fat8.9 g1.5 g
Trans fat0.2 g0 g
Cholesterol150 mg25 mg
Sodium1234 mg203 mg
Salt equivalent3.1 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
652 mg
Calcium
97 mg
Iron
2.7 mg
Magnesium
92 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
176 µg
Vitamin C
15 mg
Vitamin D
0.4 µg
Vitamin B12
0.7 µg
Folate (DFE)
99 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Serve fish sauce with a squeeze of calamansi at the table for extra seasoning.

Common mistakes

  • Boiling the broth hard, which clouds it; keep it at a gentle simmer.
  • Adding the leafy greens too early — they should only wilt in the hot broth.

Serve with

  • Serve with steamed rice.

Storage

  • Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Bring back to a simmer; add fresh greens.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 4, 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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