Pinaupong Manok

Pinaupong manok sa asin is roasting chicken and making it sit in a bed of salt. The salt is embedded on the bottom of the pot, traditionally an empty clay pot. This was the most common way of baking chicken in the Philippines during the early days when gas ovens was not yet invented.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, size 14-16
2 whole onions, quartered
1 whole garlic, pounded with skin on
1/2 thumb sized ginger, minced
3 stalks lemon grass
freshly ground black pepper
3 cups rock salt
banana leaves
3 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp chicken drippings (you get this when you rest the chicken, don’t use the one from the bottom of the pot)
1 tsp ginger paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt

Procedure:

1. Generously rub chicken with salt, garlic and freshly ground black pepper inside the cavity and outside.
2. Stuff the cavity with onions, lemon grass, garlic and ginger.
3. Place 3 cups of rock salt in the bottom of an earthenware pot then line the top with banana leaves. Place chicken in a sitting position then place in an open flame over stove or fire burner, make sure the rest of the chicken would not touch the sides of the pot. Cook for 2 to 2 1/2 two hours or until chicken is tender.
4. Once cooked, place chicken in a wire rack to cool, let the juices run in a container.
5. Place all sauce ingredients together in a sauce pan and simmer in low heat for 5 minutes.
6. Place chicken in a serving plate then serve with dipping sauce.