Ginataang Papaya with Chicken Recipe! (Green Papaya in Coconut Milk)

Another unplanned content for today's blog! As I scour the ref last night looking for vegetables that I can cook the next day for lunch, I saw this green papaya that we bought, I almost forgot about it lol! We still have coconut cream, check! Chicken, check! Okay. "I'm cooking this tomorrow I said to myself".

This recipe is basically how we cook in Bicol, but the simplicity of the process and ingredients are basically the same as that of other Asian countries specifically like Indo-Malay cuisine. There are a lot of similarities, especially when cooking with coconut milk and the spices used. There are many variations with this dish. Some like to put lemongrass and ginger (if they used fish as protein, to combat the fishy stench) Some like the classic sardines which give it its red color and familiar flavor. This recipe however is fairly simple. I love to use delicate, white meat with Papaya because I do not want to overshadow the papaya's mild flavor. But I love this because it is bursting with mild but bomb flavors. Yum. 

While I was cooking this earlier, of course, I had to taste it, Oh God. It is so seriously good and healthy and I'm like, I need to write it in my blog! So here it goes...

INGREDIENTS:

Onion (sliced)
Garlic (crushed)
Green Papaya (sliced into thin, small pieces)
Chicken (cut into small pieces)
Coconut Milk 
Siling Haba
Salt

PROCEDURE: 

1. Place the coconut milk in your wok. Add the garlic, onion, chicken. Salt it. (You can also add in a bit of sugar to make your coco milk base more delicious) 

2. You wait for it to boil over your medium fire while stirring constantly to prevent lumps. 

3. When your coconut milk is boiling, add your papaya, stir with the cream. Put the siling haba. Just let it boil away. Continue to check and stir since our liquid might evaporate rapidly and you may burn the bottom part of your viand. 

4. You will know when the papaya is cooked already. I like it and find it ready when the coconut milk starts converting into oils plus some oil from our chicken. This is my favorite part whenever I cook with our beloved "gata" (coconut milk). 

There you have it! Our simple, delicious yet very healthy papaya dish. Serve with rice and in my case, rice and itlog na maalat (salted egg) with lime! Yummmm! Enjoy you guys!

Paired with Itlog na Maalat! Yumm!!!