Chicken inasal, commonly known simply as inasal, is a variant of the Filipino chicken dish known as ''
lechon manok
Lechon manok is a Filipino cuisine, Filipino Rotisserie, spit-roasted chicken dish made with chicken marinated in a mixture of garlic, Indian bay leaf, bay leaf, onion, black pepper, soy sauce, and ''patis (sauce), patis'' (fish sauce). The mari ...
''. It is chicken marinated in a mixture of
calamansi
Calamansi (''Citrus'' × ''microcarpa''), also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is an economically important citrus hybrid predominantly cultivated in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, ...
, pepper, coconut vinegar and
annatto
Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree ('' Bixa orellana''), native to tropical America. It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its f ...
, then grilled over hot coals while basted with the marinade. It is served with rice, calamansi, soy sauce, chicken oil and vinegar (often ''
sinamak'' vinegar, a palm vinegar infused with garlic, chili peppers and ''
langkawas''). A common dish in the
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...
, it is a popular specialty in the city of
Bacolod, where an entire street market is dedicated to local dishes, particularly inasal. A sign in the heart of the market reads "Manokan Country" (literally "Chicken Country" in
Hiligaynon).
Many restaurant chains are famous for serving inasal, like
Bacolod Chicken Inasal
Bacolod Chicken Inasal is a Philippine restaurant chain primarily serving ''inasal'', a kind of roast chicken served on skewers that originated in the Visayas. It is also a sponsor for a number of television sitcoms on ABS-CBN.
History
The ch ...
and
Mang Inasal
Mang Inasal Philippines, Inc., also known as Mang Inasal, ( Hiligaynon for "Mr. Barbecue") is a barbecue fast food restaurant chain in the Philippines, established in Iloilo City in 2003.
History
The company was started by Edgar Sia, Edgar "I ...
, which originated in
Iloilo City
Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on t ...
.
The origin of inasal's popularity can be traced back to Bacolod's Cuadra Street (Chicken Alley) in the 1970s. However, there are also several accounts implicating the existence of inasal in Iloilo's
Fort San Pedro
Fort San Pedro ( es, Fuerte de San Pedro) is a military defense structure in Cebu, Philippines, built by the Spanish under the command of Miguel López de Legazpi, first governor of the Captaincy General of the Philippines. It is located in ...
area during the
Spanish colonial period. Nonetheless, the tastes of inasal in the two cities are different. Many people believe that Bacolod's inasal has a slightly sour base flavor, while Iloilo's has a sweet flavor; hence, the taste of inasal in the restaurant chain Mang Inasal.
On November 16, 2022, chicken inasal was declared an
important cultural property of Bacolod.
See also
*
Inihaw
Inihaw ( ), also known as sinugba or inasal, are various types of grilled or pit-roasted barbecue dishes from the Philippines. They are usually made from pork or chicken and are served on bamboo skewers or in small cubes with a soy sauce and ...
*
List of chicken dishes
This is a list of chicken dishes. Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and was one of the first domesticated animals. Chicken is a major worldwide source of meat and eggs for human consumption. It is prepared as food in a wi ...
*
List of spit-roasted foods
References
Philippine chicken dishes
Barbecue
Spit-cooked foods
Culture of Negros Occidental
Visayan cuisine
{{Philippines-cuisine-stub