Whole Chicken Hamonado

Chicken Hamonado is a delicious Filipino Chicken delicacy, the chicken is cooked in pineapple juice, soy sauce, chopped onion, minced garlic, oyster sauce and brown sugar. It is seasoned with pepper and salt , and pineapple chunks are added for added taste. Whole Chicken Hamonado, a sweet and savoury chicken with pineapple slices on the side will surely brighten your dinner table. Best eaten when shared together.

WHOLE CHICKEN HAMONADO

The Christmas season is fast approaching and you are reading this recipe blog just in time.

Ham is a sweet and savoury pork cut smoked to perfection. This is usually served with pineapple sauce and is usually in demand during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Since prices of commodities are still rising, a better way of enjoying the holidays is to enjoy it with delicious food which will not hurt our budget. A great way to do this is to think of alternatives on the pricey items at our dinner table.

Just like any other family, we make sure to buy ham and keso de bola for noche buena. This changed with the sudden price hike on pork. Pork and pork products also started to double their prices. With this, we kicked of our favorite ham and tried to make it homemade.

Chicken is a great alternative for pork and beef. It much cheaper but is even healthier due to less bad fats. And lastly, chicken greatly pairs with different sauces and absorbs marinades well. And with that, the whole chicken hamonado was born.

Well.. I was actually making chicken hamonado already HAHAHA. But of course, I made it with whole chicken this time. The result? A fascinating and flavorful chicken ham. I wouldnt actually call it a ham so let’s call it hamonado.

This recipe really did cut our expenses for the holiday without regrets. For your next occassion, forget falling in line at the grocery and buying expensive hams. Instead, try this recipe at home! Have fun!

HOW TO MAKE WHOLE CHICKEN HAMONADO

Making whole chicken hamonado is a hundred times easier and shorter than making the real ham. Just follow these simple steps and you can enjoy this savoury dish in a heartbeat.

Make sure to prepare and clean your chicken first. We start by marinating the whole chicken.  Instead of the classic toyomansi, our marinade will me made of pineapple juice and soy sauce for a sweeter flavor. I usually marinate the chicken inside of a ziplock bag and then vacuum seal it for the meantime. It is much easier to store it in the fridge overnight and I’m sure that the marinade will truly coat every inch of the chicken.

To start with the hamonado, sear the chicken first. You don’t need to put oil in the pan. Some natural oil will be rendered from the chicken’s skin. Our goal is to make them brown but not fully-cooked. Searing adds flavor to the dish and seals the juices inside the chicken.

After searing, remove the chicken from the pan. Saute the aromatics and add the marinade. To complete the ham flavor and make it more flavorful, add the oyster sauce and brown sugar.

Add the chicken back to the pan and simmer, simmer, simmer. This might take a while since the chicken must be cooked through the core. Since the marinade will not fully cover the chicken, baste the chicken with the sauce and flip the chicken in between cooking.

Surround the chicken with pineapple slices or chunks to give the fresh pineapple sweetness. Continue basting until the sauce is completely dried up.

When cooking whole chicken, I usually use a kitchen thermometer and stick it in a lean part of the chicken to check if it cooks up the core. If the reading shows aroung 165F, then the chicken is done.

Transfer the whole chicken hamonado in a nice tray. Serve it with some pineapple slices on the side. Share and enjoy with your family. Yum!

Whole Chicken Hamonado Recipe (TAGALOG)

MGA SANGKAP

• 1 kilo buong manok
• 2 tasa ng pineapple juice (unsweetened)
• 3 kutsara ng toyo
• 1/2 kutsarita ng paminta
• 1 malaking sibuyas (hiniwa)
• 4 butil ng bawang (hiniwa ng maliliit)
• 2 kutsara ng oyster sauce
• 1 kutsara ng asukal na pula
• asin
• 5 – 6 hiwa ng pineapple

mantika

PAANO LUTUIN

1. Pagsamahin ang pineapple juice, toyo at paminta sa isang bowl. Haluin at isantabi.
2. Hugasan at ihanda ang manok. Ilipat ito sa ziplock bag o sa malalim na bowl. Ilagay ang pineapple marinade. I-marinate ito ng 1 oras o magdamag.
3. Magpainit ng mantika. Iprito ang manok hanggang maging brown ang balat (isantabi ang marinade). Baliktarin para maluto ang ibang sides. Alisin ang manok sa kawali.
4. Igisa ang bawang at sibuyas hanggang maging light brown. Ilagay ang pineapple marinade. Dagdagan ito ng oyster sauce at asukal na pula. Haluin ng mabuti para matunaw ang asukal.
5. Ibalik ang pinritong manok sa kawali. Takpan at hayaang maluto ng 15 minutes gamit ang mababang katamtamang apoy.
6. Pagkatapos ng 15 minuto, baliktarin ang manok para maluto ang kabilang side. Buhus-buhusan ng sauce ang manok para pumantay ang kulay. Takpan ang kawali at hayaan itong maluto ng 15 minuto pa gamit ang mababang apoy.
7. Baliktarin ulit ang manok. Tikman ang sauce at magdagdag ng asin kung kailangan. Ituloy lang ang pag-baste ng sauce sa manok. Takpan ang kawali at lutuin pa ito ng 10 – 15 minuto.
8. Ilagay ang pineapple slices sa ibabaw ng manok at lutuin pa ng 5 minuto. I-baste parin ito gamit ang sauce.
9. Luto na ang whole chicken hamonado at pwede nang I-serve. Ilipat ito sa serving platter at samahan ng mainit na kanin. Enjoy!