Nilagang Manok is a clear chicken soup loaded with vegetables and seasoned with patis or fish sauce. The chicken pieces are boiled until tender resulting in a light flavorful soup that is both savory and naturally sweet from the vegetables.
The simplest, easiest and beginner-friendly Chicken Nilaga you'll ever make. You can make this on cold rainy or winter nights but most especially on your busiest of days.
This dish is similar to Chicken Tinola but without ginger and garlic. The aromatics such as onion and celery are boiled with the chicken pieces (bone-in, skin-on) and then seasoned with fish sauce before it finishes cooking.
How to Make Nilagang Manok with Fish Sauce in 3 easy steps!
- First, start by boiling the chicken in a pot of water until tender. Remove the scum as it rises on top. Cover the pot with a lid to prevent water from evaporating.
- Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. You can probably finish this within 5 minutes and you'll have extra time to do other stuff.
- Finally, once the chicken is fork-tender, season with fish sauce and add your choice of vegetables. Start with the starchy ones such as potatoes, carrots, gabi or yam or sweet potatoes then add the soft vegetables at the end. That’s it! Easy peasy!
Vegetables for Nilaga
Nilaga is an easily customizable dish. The list of vegetables you can make with it is almost endless. I actually depend on it when it's time to clear off the vegetables in the fridge.
- potatoes
- sweet potatoes
- carrots
- gabi (yam)
- sayote (chayote)
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- sitaw (long green beans)
- saba banana
- napa cabbage
- cabbage
- pak choy or pechay
- other green leafy vegetables
- green beans
Serve with warm rice and more fish sauce.
More Filipino Chicken recipes YOU MUST TRY!
- Chicken Sinigang
- Easy Chicken and Mushroom Salpicao
- Chicken Menudo
- Easy Chicken Afritada Recipe
- Creamy Chicken Kare-Kare
- Chicken Puchero with Baked Beans
- Homemade Chicken Tocino
- Adobo Chicken Wings
- Chicken Binagoongan
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Complete Recipe
Nilagang Manok sa Patis (Chicken Vegetable Soup with Fish Sauce)
Ingredients
- 1 kg /2 lbs chicken (cut into pieces, bone-in, preferably skin on)
- 4 cups water (add more if needed)
- 1 onion
- 1 stalk celery (sliced)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 2 medium-size potatoes (quartered)
- 1 large carrot (sliced)
- 1 head cabbage (quartered)
- other choices of vegetables (see notes)
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Place chicken, onion, peppercorns, and celery in a large pot. Cover with water and boil for 20 minutes with the lid on.
- Pour fish sauce. Add carrots and potatoes (or similar starchy vegetables). Cook for another 10 minutes until meat and vegetables are fork-tender.
- Add cabbage or your choice of leafy vegetables. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes with the lid on until tender. Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with warm rice. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes and Tips:
- Use chicken pieces with bone-in and skin-on for a more flavorful soup.
- The thicker the cut of the chicken, the longer the cooking time.
- Cover pot with a lid so that the water will not evaporate while cooking.
- Other vegetable options: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, yam (gabi), broccoli, cauliflower, long beans (sitaw), saba bananas, napa cabbage, cabbage, pak choy or pechay, green beans, chayote and other green leafy vegetables.
- If using green leafy vegetables adjust cooking time to 1 to 2 minutes. They cook fairly quickly than cabbage.
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