Hubad na Lumpiang Papaya with Chicken

Papaya and sweet potato with shredded chicken and sweet garlic-atsuete sauce.

Ingredients

Chicken and broth

• 900 g chicken drumsticks, bone-in and skin-on
• 2 L water
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves, optional

Papaya–kamote mixture

• 4 kg green papaya, peeled and cut into thin, short strips
• 1.2 kg sweet potatoes, peeled and cut similarly
• Cooked chicken meat, shredded
• ¼ cup cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons annatto/atsuete powder
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon chicken powder
• 1½ teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1–2 teaspoons salt, as needed
• Use chicken powder, not shrimp powder, because there is already actual chicken in the dish. The shrimp powder could make it taste like a different seafood-based dish.

Sweet sauce

• 3 L reserved chicken broth, supplemented with water if necessary
• 2 cups brown sugar
• ¾ cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1½ tablespoons chicken powder
• 1½ teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1½ teaspoons annatto powder
• 1 whole head garlic, approximately 12 cloves, finely minced
• 2 medium onions, very finely chopped
• ¾ cup cornstarch
• 1¼ cups cool water, for the slurry
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• Salt or additional sugar, as needed

Method

• Simmer chicken with the broth ingredients for 30–35 minutes, until tender and cooked through. Debone and shred; strain and save the broth. Top up with water to make 3 L for the sauce.
• Dissolve the annatto for the filling and sauce separately in warm broth. Sauté garlic and onion for the filling, add its annatto, then sweet potato and ½ cup broth for 4–6 minutes.
• Add papaya and the filling seasonings. Cover and cook 8–12 minutes, stirring gently; add chicken during the last 4–5 minutes. Keep the papaya tender with a little bite.
• For the sauce, sauté garlic and onion in its oil. Add 3 L broth and the sauce seasonings; simmer 8–10 minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixed with cool water and cook 3–5 minutes, until glossy.
• Serve roughly 1–1¼ cups filling with ⅓–½ cup warm sauce per portion. Keep filling and sauce separate until serving. This batch makes about 28 generous or 30–32 moderate portions.

Before you cook

Read the ingredient labels for allergens, especially seafood, soy, wheat, dairy and eggs. Prepared sauces and seasoning powders vary in saltiness, so taste before adding more. Cooking times are guides; check doneness in the actual batch.

Cook poultry and reheated leftovers to 74°C, ground meat to 71°C, and fish to 63°C. FoodSafety.gov cooking guidance ↗