It could be seen as ironic that in many Filipino and Asian cuisines, very little of the meat or fish parts goes to waste. While some street foods may appear unconventional to some, such as Isaw (grilled intestine), the use of ingredients like pig ears and feet, chicken legs and feet, and more, are commonly eaten. Thus, it could be argued that nothing edible is truly wasted.
Mark’s recipe for Inihaw na Ulo ng Manok or Chicken Head Kabob involves marinating chicken heads in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, and spices before grilling them on skewers. To give the chicken a pop of color, he also adds a small amount of atsuete (Annatto) food coloring to the marinade.
So, what we have with Mark’s Inihaw na Ulo ng Manok or Chicken Head Kabob recipe is when pieces of chicken’s heads are marinated in vinegar, soy sauce and spices, then char-grilled in skewers. He marinated them with his usual Inihaw marinade, applied a small amount of atsuete(Annatto) food coloring, to give color to the chicken, then grilled them in skewers.
Ingredients: 4-6 servings
2 lbs. chicken mid thigh and leg parts
6 large sliced Calamansi, lime is optional
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
1/2 medium finely chopped onions
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp crushed black peppers
1/2 tsp atsuete(annatto seeds)
salt to taste
Grilling Preparation:
- On a bowl, combine calamansi juice, garlic, onions, soy sauce and crushed black peppers and powdered annatto seeds. Add a pinch of salt if desired. Whisk entire marinade ingredients. Add and allow the chicken thighs to thoroughly soak into the marinade for at least 2 hours or more.
- Prepare the charcoal grill fire when marinated chicken thighs are ready for grilling. Carefully place marinated chicken thighs directly over the fire grill starting from one side.
- Brush leftover marinade onto the top side of the chicken legs parts while grilling, to keep the meat hydrated and moist. It will keep it tender and juicy tasting.
- When the bottom side is cooked or browned, flip the raw side of the thighs, then continue grilling until the inner part of the chicken thighs are cooked.
- Remove from fire. Serve Inihaw na Ulong Manok(grilled chicken heads) hot with steamed rice and vinegar sauce as a dip.
Tip: For the grilled Inihaw dip, use vinegar and soy sauce, apply some chopped garlic and crushed black peppers. Add some siling labuyo(Filipino chili peppers) if you wish for a spicy condiment.