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Chicken Nilaga - Filipino Boiled Stew with Vegetables

One of the most basic Filipino soup meals is Chicken Nilaga, which translates to ‘boiled chicken’. The clear chicken broth is flavored with fish sauce, scallions and onions. You can be as versatile as you want with this dish, by adding quartered potatoes, carrots and green beans. I added robust-flavored Chinese sausages and savory ham slices to pack in layers of flavors. This AsianInAmericaMag recipe is good for 4 servings.
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Asian, Filipino
Keyword: Filipino Chicken Nilaga Stew Vegetables
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 571kcal
Author: Asian in America

Ingredients

  • 4 to 5 pounds whole chicken bone-in, whole or cut up
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 whole white or yellow onions sliced
  • 2 stalks scallion whites chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons patis (fish sauce)
  • 6 to 8 cups organic chicken broth
  • 2 cups rice wash obtained from second washing of uncooked rice
  • 2 whole large potatoes peeled, quartered
  • 2 whole medium-sized carrots peeled, sliced
  • 2 slices cooked ham cut in 3-inch length strips
  • 2 whole Chinese sausages (lap cheong) sliced (from Asian markets)
  • 1 1/2 cups green beans edges trimmed, sliced in 2-inch length pieces
  • 1 bunch bok choy (Chinese cabbage) sliced in shreds, about 2 cups
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • for serving: boiled rice

Instructions

  • Prepare whole or cut up chicken by washing the pieces well and pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken in a pre-greased roasting pan that fits the pieces. In a pre-heated oven of 375 F degrees, roast the chicken for about 15 to 18 minutes till the skin is crisp and light brown. Remove the chicken from the oven and set aside.
  • Have some rice wash ready for the broth by setting aside the water used from pre-washing the uncooked rice grains. (I have written about this in a previous blog post and is one of the simplest and best ways to cook a hearty, flavorful soup broth).
  • In a large stock pot, over medium high heat, add the vegetable oil. Add the garlic, onions,  scallions and fish sauce or Filipino patis. Let this cook for 2 to 3 minutes till onions soften and fish sauce flavor sets in.
  • Add the chicken, the rice wash and broth, making sure the liquid covers the chicken. Season with whole pepper corns, salt and black pepper powder. Let the broth boil at high heat, then lower to medium. Cover and cook till the chicken is soft and tender for about 55 minutes.
  • At the last 20 minutes, add the ham slices, Chinese sausages, potatoes and carrots. Add the green beans and bok choy at the last 10 minutes. Serve hot with boiled jasmine white rice.
  • Cook’s comments: To make life easy, cook this Chicken Nilaga in a slow cooker or crock pot. I use my slow cooker measuring about 4 ½ quarts for this amount of chicken and ingredients, on a High setting, for 6 hours. If cooking in a slow cooker, I add the potatoes and carrots at the last hour, the green beans at the last 30 minutes. For a pressure cooker, cook this chicken stew (with bone-in) for 40 minutes.
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Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 571kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 174mg | Sodium: 899mg | Potassium: 565mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 590IU | Vitamin C: 12.7mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2.7mg