Pinaupong manok
My husband has heard of pinaupong manok (sitting chicken) several times but never had a chance to try it. He thought it was something complicated to prepare and, hence, only for special occasions. I thought that was really funny. I have been making pinaupong manok since high school. I told him it was the easiest thing to make.
Pinaupong manok is so named because the chicken is made to sit on a bed of rock salt. No liquid is added; the chicken cooks in the combined steam generated from the water content of the salt as well as its own. It absorbs all the natural flavor of the rock salt. Traditionally, the dish is served with a dunking sauce made with toyo (soy sauce) and kalamansi (native lemon) juice.
I decided to cook pinaupong manok with a few improvisations. With the traditional Chinese steamed white chicken in mind, I stuffed the cavity of the chicken with 2 whole onions, 1 whole garlic, several chunks of ginger, a bay leaf and some peppercorns. Then, I served it with a dunking sauce made with finely mined garlic and ginger stirred in olive oil and seasoned with salt. Heck, it was great! Note though that if you have kids who do not like the strong taste of ginger, better prepare an alternative sauce for them. The usual toyo and kalamansi would be fine.
The traditional way of cooking pinaupong manok is to cook it in a palayok, the native earthenware pot. But, there’s nothing wrong with using any large, thick stainless steel casserole. When I was first taught to cook this dish, I was told that it was very important that no part of the chicken should touch the metal. Hence, a large and deep casserole. Cooking time is one hour for every kilo of chicken.
I used a pressure cooker. Cooking time was 20 minutes counting from the time the valve started to whistle.
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hi Connie,
I always find your site very helpful, hence, i make sure that I check your site everyday. I also witnessed the transition of your blog from the old version and this one. The only suggestion I would like to share is, your previous blog allows me to print only the recipe, but your current blog don’t have this provision (or am i just missing something here?
).
Nevertheless, thanks so much for sharing your wonderful recipes and food ideas.
Bing
Hi Bing.
Been trying to figure out the printable version plugin in Wordpress. No success yet. No worries, I’ll keep trying.
Hi,
Allow me to thank you for the recipe on pinaupong manok.
In a discussion with a friend, the topic shifted to how her brother decided to cook pinaupong manok using a large can of milk. We dedided to check the internet for the recipe and came across your site.
On another matter, I was looking for Chilean Sea Bass recipes and came across a report on mercury poisoning of seafood specifically tuna, swordfish sea bass and alaskan halibut. My question: how affected are we, here in the Philippines, from this kind of poisoning.
Mercury poisoning, which may happen through ingestion of fish that contain high levels of mercury cause brain damage. It can in fact lower intelligence in children and cause memory loss and tremors in adults.
Totits, I worry about it too. Canned tuna here, for instance, are not sufficiently labeled to inform the consumer just what variety of tuna is inside. For now, we stopped eating canned tuna.
hi, connie!
thanks for the recipe, before i try it i’d like to ask you if it’s ok to use a non stick casserole instead of palayok or stainless?
thanks!
maricar, i think that’s okay so long as the bottom is thick.
Hello,I am interested with your recipe on the Pinaupong Manok.My question is.When cooking with a pressure cooker,I have to layer the bottom of the pot with salt and had the chicken on top of the salt..an I getting that right? No liquid added to the pressure cooker?
Thanks Ralph
That’s right, Ralph, the chicken is supposed to cook in its own juices and the juices of the spices stuffed in its cavity.
Hi con,
Just wondering what would be the result if I will use sesame oil instead of the olive oil cos for the moment I don’t have olive oil and I’m soooo ready to try this recipe now
Hope the outcome would still be great. Anyways, I’m going to the grocery late this afternoon but I have to cook this chicken for lunch and I just feel the urge to do the pinaupong manok. By the way, I’ve been calling you by your first name , hope it’s okey with you. Thanks for your wonderful recipes. My mom thinks I’m a super cook now 
Fatima, I think sesame oil is too strong for a dipping sauce. Peanut oil might be a good alternative.
Hi Connie,
I am so anxiuos to try your pinaupong manok. I have a question though, can I cook this thing in the oven and on what temperature?
Sarah
Sarah, it will come out as roast chicken UNLESS you cook it in a sealed ovenware. Temperature, I wouldn’t know. Never cooked pinaupong manok in the oven.
Hi again, okay I will try your method then:smile:. Thanks! Oh and I will let you know the result.
Sarah
Hi Connie, the pinaupong manok turned out perfect except I overcooked it a little bit but overall it was alright.
I have a couple of questions to ask you, maybe three. First, is there any way you can share me the recipe of Taisan Cake, is this similar to Ensaimada? Secondly, where can I order the Polvoron Mold online? I am from Toronto,Canada and I don’t seem to find this kind of mold here not even in Chinatown. Finally, do you know the recipe of Longganisa from Cagayan Valley? I hope you can help me. Thanks!
Sarah
Sarah, taisan and ensaimada – dunno know to make them. polvoron mold online – i have no idea. longganisa from cagayan valley, dunno either. sorry.
hi – im so eager to try this out but i dont have rock salt. is it okay to use regular iodized salt for this?
Hello! Thanks po very much for the recipes. if i don’t have something in mind to cook i just open your website then ayos na ang breakfast, lunch at dinner. Thanks po ulit for sharing!
Con, pwede kaya tong lutin sa rice cooker?
Conn, pwede din kaya syang lutuin sa rice cooker?
hi, love to try this one but i there is no rock salt available in dubai as checked..do u think iodized salt will be the best alternative
Hi Connie, Is it supposed to be really salty? Actually some parts of it are really good pero there are parts that are really salty. I used a slow cooker instead of a pressure cooker. It looks ok, the chicken is golden brown after cooking. Di lang talaga namin makain some parts of it.
By the way, for those who can’t find rock salt, there are coarse salt in supermarkets. You can also use sea salt pero a little expensive.
danica, yes, the parts of the skin touching th salt would be very salty. We just scrape off the salt.
i first tasted this dish when i was 9. i believe it is a pampangeño delicacy cos i heard and tasted it from pampanga. for me this is the best way to cook and eat chicken. yummy. ^_^
Hi Connie
Cooked this last night. My kids just loved it.
I am just learning to cook, because I have to
as my wife is now doing night shifts. I find your website
very informative, and the instructions quite simple to follow.
Mabuhay po kayo.
Cheers from Australia.
thanks for pinaupong manok recipe…will try this, this Christmas…by the way can i use the rice cooker casserole? low heat?
Hi! Para po hindi maalat what we do is put a metal hotpad (”lakal” tawag namin) dun namin pinapatong yung chicken para walang part ng chicken ang sumasayad sa salt. Nirurub namin ng margarine yung chicken for golden color. Para mabango naglalagay din po kami ng pandan leaf. Suggestion lang po.
More power!
Hi Connie,
Is it safe to just place the salt in the pressure cooker without water? My pressure cooker broke after cooking twice in it and now I bought a new one, its manual specifically said do not put anything dry and always make sure there is water in there…. Just making sure I don’t break this new one! Appreciate your input on this.
Hi Connie,
sorry after re-reading my comment, I meant, after cooking pinaupong manok twice in it….my pressure cooker broke down….
Marisse
Marisse, the water comes from the chicken, salt and veggies so you’re not really cooking a dry dish.
hi thanks for the recipe of pinaupong manok. i will try this recipe this new year! more power
hi! i am a 50-year old working mother and i enjoyed every chunk of your pinaupong manok recipe. marunong din kasi ako magluto nun. i used to put lemongrass inside the chicken cavity.my sauce is juts like the usual toyo and kalamansi.
ok lang b na i-rub ng asin ang chicken bago iluto?ano ba ang appropriate na side dish sa pinaupong manok? thanks.
Marissa, am not so sure about rubbing the salt. I was thinking that the skin might turn out much saltier than the meat. A stir-fried vegetable dish would be good, I think, Marissa. Like chop suey with minimal meat.
Hi Connie:
We tried this recipe, it was very good! We, however, made some changes though… Instead of the chicken touching the salt, we placed a layer of banana leaf between the salt and the chicken, thus no part of the chicken tasted very salty.
Thanks for the recipe! Live long and prosper
hi connie,
finally, i have encountered pinaupong manok recipe..i’ve bin asking my frends how to do it but i just imagined the procedure! i will try this at home, then if it will be great, i will prepare one for christmas! nyway, can i cook it in our rice cooker?
If it’s a large rice cooker.
Do you think this can be done in a crockpot? Thanks.
Yes, I think so.
ms. connie,
the same measurement din ba if use iodized salt. wala pa kasi akong nakitang rock salt dito.
Thank you.
Naku hindi. You’ll need less than half as much if using iodized salt.
hi ms. connie
gusto ko tlaga ang recipe u n pinaupong manok sa asin pero khit ano gawin ko ndi ko prin makuha ung sala n gusto
ibigay u nga skin ung sekreto mo sa paggawa mo ng recipe n ito?
salamat poh?