Lechon Manok (Philippine Roast Chicken) and Lechon Sauce

[ts]
This is another special occasion dish in the Philippines. However, seeing as it's so easy, it's also great for weeknight dinners.

[js]
Lechon manok is quite ubiquitous in the Philippines. It is the Philippines' version of rotisserie chicken, chicken on a spit, roasting and spinning away. Walking down a street, it would not be unusual to see lechon-manok stalls around every corner or so.

There used to be a lechon manok craze when we were still living in Manila, but sadly, I never got to try a lechon manok then. The usual verbotens about buying street food and so on and so forth.

Nonetheless, I did get to try versions of lechon manok later and it was a very familiar-tasting chicken, with, I suppose, the usual flavour suspects.

Lechon Manok

Three Little ~~Piggies~~ Chickies in a citrus-soy sauce bath

[ts]
First, the marinade. Two things: soy sauce and kalamansi juice. Well, in this instance, we used lime and lemon juices, because unlike some lucky people, we don't actually have ready access to kalamansi.

After marinading overnight, they were ready.

[ts]
The only other thing we had to do was stuff the cavity with lemongrass. I also placed the chickens on a rack on a baking sheet.

Then into the oven to roast until done.

[ts]
Whole chickens always look funny and amusing to me. Look, they look like they're wearing black shoes!

Lechon Sauce
JS made a whackload of lechon sauce in anticipation of lechon (roast pig).

[js]
In the event that our lechon arrives, I thought homemade lechon sauce might be a treat, instead of the usual bottled Mang Tomas sarsa (sauce).

I started with some chicken livers, boiling them and mashing them.

[js]
Into a pot went some onions. After sweating the onions, I added some garlic and the boiled chicken livers, mashing them while I'm at it.

I added some cider vinegar, brown sugar -- and because it was still too thick, a liquid. I had run out of stock but I didn't want to use water so I used a cup of ginger ale instead.

I added a bay leaf to simmer in the pot. I also added one birds-eye pepper and seasoned to taste.

[js]
Just to get the sauce smoother, I even used the blender. This is a very rare occasion indeed, as I -- and TS can attest to this -- hate the blender.

[ts]
Sorry for the blurry blender shot. I really don't like liver and the smell of it being liquified was too much to bear! I had to hurry in there, hold my breath, press the button on the camera, and get out.

[js]
My lechon sauce: Smooth, savory and a touch sweet. It was good, but it was all for naught, since there was no lechon!

Read all about our Starry, Starry... Pig? adventure -- aka, the Case of the Missing Pig.

We served lechon manok & lechon sauce during our New Year's Eve party:
A Starry, Starry Night in Vancouver -- Evoking the Philippine Christmas Spirit