The Chicken Inasal of Bacolod City. A Native Bacolodnon Dish Bacolods Chicken Inasal is a popular dish from the City of Smiles. It is not marinated or prepared like the usual chicken barbeque found in the rest of the country. Perhaps other cultures have long been preparing chicken barbeque long before Bacolenos did. But what makes Bacolod chicken inasal special? The concept of Bacolod chicken inasal first started with small food kiosks at the old Post Office building where the Po’s Marketing stands at present. It is situated at Araneta Street, right at the heart of Bacolod’s downtown. The inasal was made of native chicken or what we call as bisaya. The traditional way of having the chicken inasal is eating it as a sumsuman or appetizer, to go along with a couple of beers. Later, support from politicians came in to further the growth of the Bacolod chicken inasal as a profitable business venture in town. In 1972, the inasal kiosks were transferred to Cuadra St., beside the Bacolod State Cinema. At around this time, the inasal vendors shifted to “45 days” chicken or the white leghorn variety. Because of Mayor Dizon and Mr. John Orola ‘s help, the chicken inasal as a food industry flourished. It was during this time that the Manokan Country was established. One of the pioneering inasal kiosks was Sabel Chicken BBQ. The grandchildren who took over the business changed the name to NENA’s. During the 1990’s, because of the bogging down of the sugar industry, Bacolod was in crisis. Such collapse caused a fluctuation in both big and small businesses in the province. The Manokan industry was not spared. Aside from the collapse of the sugar industry, the coming in of fastfood chains like McDonald’s, Jollibee, Snackee and others posed a threat to the Manokan country. Still, the Manokan country was able to sustain itself, having established itself as a Bacolodnon food tradition. Unlike the usual barbecue or grilled chicken that uses soy sauce, this dish uses different ingredients for its marinade and basting sauce that create a unique flavor. The smoked flavor added by cooking the meat on a hot charcoal grill imbibes the marinade and makes the dish tastier. This dish is also distinct for its yellowish color brought about by the application of achuete or annatto oil. Unlike the chicken inasal found in other parts of the Philippines, like in Manila, the Bacolodnon chicken inasal is not served on banana leaf plates. Carinderias along the streets of Bacolod serve the inasal skewered on bamboo sticks right off the grill. This dish is best eaten with garlic rice and basting sauce.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 09:23:51 +0000
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