My family loves the roasted chicken from Andok’s Litson Manok, most especially their gravy. I’ve been thinking what makes them so authentic and special. It has a taste similar to “lechon baboy” (suckling pig). And I found out that the secret is “tanglad” (lemon grass). Yes, I learned that tanglad is used in roasting lechon baboy, which makes it authentic.

A brief overview: Tanglad has been widely used as an herb in Asian and Caribbean cooking. It has a citrus flavor and can be dried and powdered, or can even be used fresh. It has various uses, e.g., in teas, soups, and curries. It is also suitable for poultry, fish, and seafood. It can be bought in wet markets and local groceries.

So, I tried it on my roasted chicken and discovered that it’s the secret of Andok’s Chicken. The taste was similar with Andok’s and of course my family enjoyed it.

Here’s my version of the recipe:

1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kilos)

¼ cup soy sauce

juice extracted from 12 pcs calamansi

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

freshly ground pepper

A few stems of dried tanglad

Procedure:

1. Wash the chicken thoroughly and pat dry using paper towels.

2. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the tanglad and freshly ground pepper.

3. Put 2/3 of the mixture and the tanglad inside the chicken’s cavity.

4. Tie the chicken legs using 1 stalk of tanglad, and tuck the wings under the chicken.

5. Brush the chicken with the remaining sauce and put freshly ground pepper all over the chicken.

6. Let it stand in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours for a more flavorful taste.

7. Put it in a baking dish and cover it with foil. Roast it in a preheated 400°F oven. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until chicken is tender.
Tip: (from Good Housekeeping) – When done, let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before cutting. This allows the juices to be redistributed making the meat juicy.

Oh before I forget, I used the store-bought Andok’s litson sauce for the gravy.

Enjoy!

Did you like this recipe?…..Cast me a vote…

Now, it’s my time to tell about our 3-day Bohol Adventures.

Abeth, I, and Tita Doray left Manila around 8am via PAL and arrived at Tagbilaran City around 9am. From there, our tourist guide fetched us and then brought us to the Dumaluan Beach Resort where we spent our 3 days in Bohol. Before proceeding to the resort, we dropped by to a nearby supermarket to buy some foods and have our lunch. We arrived at the resort at around 11 am. Since we did not make earlier reservation at the resort, we were not able to avail their lower-priced room because all of them were fully booked. So we decided to stay in one of their executive rooms instead.

On that day, we walked around the beach, took some pictures, and passed by the Bohol Beach Club. BBC has a more beautiful shoreline compared with Dumaluan. We weren’t able to swim at the beach that afternoon because it rained. So, we swam at the swimming pool instead. We had our dinner at the resort and slept early in preparation to tomorrow’s whole day tour.

In the next morning, we woke up early to see the sunrise and took some pictures again. We left the resort at 8am for the tour. Our driver and tourist guide was Mang Jun, whom Abeth knew thru Pinoy Exchange. We highly recommend him as a tourist guide because he is nice and friendly. During our tour, he tells us the stories of every place we visit. We learned that the local government supports Bohol as a tourist spot. They conducted seminars for tourist guides to educate them all about Bohol so that all visitors of the province will learn more about the place. It’s good to know that our government really helps in preserving this beautiful place. It’s really a beautiful and peaceful place. The people are kind.

So let the tour begin…

First stop: Blood Compact Site

This site commemorates the blood compact between Miguel Lopez de Legazpi of Spain and Rajah Sikatuna of Bohol, which took place on March 16, 1565. This act represents peace and friendship. The sculpture was made by the National Artist Napoleon Abueva, a Boholano himself. The sculpture is an interesting and impressive structure and from there, you’ll have a nice view of the sea.

Second: Tarsier

We dropped by at the DENR permitted captive tarsier. We took pictures with the tarsiers and a baby monkey drinking milk in a baby bottle.

Philippines Tarsiers are probably the smallest primates in the world, with height between 3.5 to 6.25 inches and weight between 70 to 165 grams. Their big eyes give them very acute night vision, which make them good night hunters. They have big ears that can move in the direction of any noise and their heads can rotate through 180 degrees, which all help them in hunting. They can still be found in parts of the Philippines and parts of Indonesia. It has been estimated that there are 5,000-10,000 tarsiers left in the world. However, that number is known to be falling that’s why efforts have been made to breed them in captivity. Tarsiers have suicidal tendencies. If they became unhappy, they’ll commit suicide by banging their heads on something hard like cage sides.

Third: Bilar Man-Made Forest

Located in Bilar, it is said that the Man-Made Forest of Bilar is the largest man-made forest in the country. It was planted by Bohol-anons to maintain ecological balance and restore the wildlife habitat in the area, which was threatened by forest exhaustion. It covers an area of around 8 square kilometers. It was made through a national reforestation program launched in the early 1960′s by planting thousands of Mahogany seeds in Bilar and Loboc.

It is a beautiful place….a forest made by human… if it was done in Bohol, why can’t other do the same?

Next attraction…(to be continued)

Fourth: Chocolate Hills

Fifth: Butterfly Conservation Center

Sixth: Hanging Bridge

Seventh: Loboc River cruise

Eighth: Old Churches (Loboc Church, Baclayon Church, Alburque Church)

Ninth: Clarin Ancestra House

Tenth: Aproniana Gift Shop

One of my dreams is to have our own business someday. Since food is my passion, I want a food-related business, like a pastry shop someday. I want to be able to market my products widely and Ecommerce is a great way. I found out that there are several ecommerce softwares for building online stores. These include Ashop Commerce’s Shopping Cart Software. They have various options in designing your own shopping cart software. They are easy to use and have several custom-designed and shopping carts to choose from. Some of its advantages include customizable and adaptable shopping carts, and payments from online transactions can be received more quickly. Ashop Commerce provides a secure checkout system that enables effortless conversion rates, which is an easy three step process for customers with every payment option taken care of. So, if this dream business comes true, we will consider Ashop Commerce.

Hayyy, I have no posts yet for 2008. I’m not yet finished with compiling the pictures of our Bohol Trip. I’m not done yet with the movie maker kasi ilang beses na nagha-hang while editing it. Sobrang long overdue post na un. I also have new recipes to share. I’m still busy with my work and baking.

I just want to finish all of them to be back in blogging again. One of my New Year’s resolution is to make posts on my blog regularly kaso first week pa lang wala pa ako post. Huhu…I won’t be able to blog again this weekend kasi we’re going to Cavite again. My parent’s trip was postponed. Their tentative flight sched is on the 19th kaya we have to spend more time with them. Of course, I’ll miss them because they will be back in 2009 pa.

That’s it for now. Ciao!