Coconut water chicken soup (binakol)

Unlike other chicken soup recipes, Filipino native chicken soup, or binakol, is made using coconut water instead of plain water or stock.

Native chicken (binakol) Credit: The Good Cooks

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• ¼ cup (60 ml) cooking oil
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed, finely diced
• 2 cm piece ginger, cut into long, thin strips
• 3 tomatoes, sliced into wedges
• 1 kg chicken breast or thigh with bones, skin and fat, butterflied to equal thickness
• 1 tsp chicken stock powder
• 8 black peppercorns
• 3 stalks lemongrass, white part only
• 2 young green coconuts, water reserved, flesh cut into thin strips
• ¼–⅓ cup fish sauce, to taste
• 4 finger chillies (two red and two green)

Instructions

1. Heat a large saucepan over a low heat and add cooking oil. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, until they take on a golden brown colour.
2. Add the ginger and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomato and stir for 1 minute, then mash them down.
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add to pan, piece by piece in order not to bring any excess water. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes.
4. Add chicken stock, black pepper, lemongrass, coconut water and coconut flesh, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10–15 minutes. Add fish sauce and chillies, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve.

 

The Good Cooks premieres on Thursday 8 November at 8.30pm. The series airs Thursdays at 8.30pm (with an encore on Sundays at 6.30pm) on SBS Food (Channel 33). After they air, episodes will stream at SBS On Demand. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.