Chicken inasal

Name: Chicken inasal
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 305 min
Yield: 4 people
Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients: 1.2 kg Chicken, bone-in legs and thighs, or quarters; 3 piece Lemongrass, stalks, chopped; 30 g Ginger, chopped; 10 clove Garlic; 120 ml Vinegar, cane or coconut vinegar; 3 piece Lime, juiced (about 90 ml), or the juice of 12 calamansi; 2 tbsp Brown sugar; 2 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Black pepper; 2 tbsp Achiote, annatto seeds; 100 ml Neutral oil; 30 g Butter, or margarine, as in Bacolod; 3 tbsp Soy sauce; 3 tbsp Vinegar; 2 piece Fresh chilli, bird's-eye, chopped

Inasal na manok

Bacolod grilled chicken marinated in lemongrass, ginger, vinegar and calamansi, basted again and again with orange annatto oil. Rice and chicken oil alongside.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Inasal na manok.

Start cooking

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 45 min
Rest: 4 hr
Total: 5 hr 5 min
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Mild
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Image coming soon

About

Chicken inasal is Bacolod's grilled chicken, and it tastes of lemongrass, vinegar and calamansi rather than soy. Bone-in pieces are marinated for hours in pounded lemongrass, ginger and garlic with cane or coconut vinegar, calamansi juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. On the grill they are basted again and again with annatto oil, which turns them a deep orange and keeps them moist. A charcoal grill is best; a hot oven with a final blast under the grill works. Serve it with rice, some of the annatto oil spooned over the rice, and a dip of soy, vinegar and chilli.

What you'll need

15 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 15 ready

4 servings

Marinade
Baste
Dip

Ingredients

Servings

Marinade

Chicken, bone-in legs and thighs, or quarters1.2 kg
Lemongrass, stalks, chopped3
Ginger, chopped30 g
Garlic10 clove
Vinegar, cane or coconut vinegar120 ml
Lime, juiced (about 90 ml), or the juice of 12 calamansi3
Brown sugar30 ml
Salt9.9 ml
Black pepper4.9 ml

Baste

Achiote, annatto seeds30 ml
Neutral oil100 ml
Butter, or margarine, as in Bacolod30 g

Dip

Soy sauce44 ml
Vinegar44 ml
Fresh chilli, bird's-eye, chopped2

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Pound or blitz the lemongrass, ginger and garlic to a rough paste. Mix it with the vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt and pepper, and set aside 3 tablespoons of this marinade for the baste.
10 min
Step 2
Cut two or three slashes to the bone in each chicken piece, put them in the remaining marinade and rub it into the cuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
5 min
Step 3
Warm the oil and annatto seeds in a small pan over low heat for 5 minutes, until the oil turns deep orange-red. Strain out the seeds, stir in the butter until melted, then the reserved marinade. Pour about 3 tablespoons into a cup and keep it for the rice; the rest is the baste.
6 min
Tip: Keep the heat low. Seeds that blacken make the oil bitter.
Step 4
Grill the chicken over medium charcoal or gas for 35 to 40 minutes, turning every 5 minutes and basting each time, until the juices run clear and the thickest part reads 75°C. Keep it off the hottest part of the fire so the sugar does not burn.
40 min
Step 5
Without a grill, roast the chicken on a rack over a tray at 200°C for 35 to 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes, then finish under a hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes a side to char.
45 min200°C
Step 6
Mix the soy sauce, vinegar and chilli for the dip. Serve the chicken with rice, with a spoon of the annatto oil you kept back over the rice.
3 min
Watch: Do not put leftover baste on the rice. The brush has been on raw chicken.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 841 kcal
Protein: 95.6 g
Carbs: 19.5 g
Fat: 40.3 g
Saturated fat: 9.2 g
Fibre: 1.5 g
Sugar: 7 g
Sodium: 1941 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Milk
Wheat
Soy

Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.

Substitutions

Calamansi → Lime juice with a little orange juice
Two parts lime to one part orange gets close to calamansi's floral sourness.
Annatto seeds → 1 tsp sweet paprika and a pinch of turmeric warmed in the oil
It gives the colour but not the faint earthy flavour.

Tips

Use dark meat. Breast dries out long before the outside has charred.
The marinade is sour. Do not leave the chicken in it for more than 24 hours or the texture turns soft.
Save the tray drippings. Warmed with the annatto oil you kept back, they are the chicken oil that goes on the rice.

History & culture

In Bacolod, on Negros, people eat inasal at Manokan Country, a strip of grill stalls where you pick your pieces, wait by the smoke, and eat with your hands. Rice is often unlimited, a habit a national fast-food chain made standard across the country. The oil on the rice is the part people talk about.

Inasal means roasted or grilled in Hiligaynon, the language of Negros and Panay. Grilling chicken in vinegar and citrus is an old Visayan habit; the annatto came from Mexico with the Spanish galleon trade. Bacolod's grill stalls made the dish famous, and it spread across the country in the last few decades.

Traditional — Bacolod stalls use sukang tuba, coconut sap vinegar, and baste with margarine or chicken fat coloured with annatto. Cane vinegar and butter are close. The oven method loses the charcoal smoke but keeps the flavour.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Chicken inasal take?

5 hr 5 min all in — 20 min prep, 45 min cook, 4 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Easy.

How spicy is it?

Mild.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Milk, Wheat, Soy. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Nut-free.

12 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Mortar and pestle, Mixing bowl, Saucepan, Tongs, Oven, Baking tray.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 2 tsp.

How much vinegar?

120 ml (cane or coconut vinegar) of Vinegar.

How much brown sugar?

2 tbsp of Brown sugar.

How much soy sauce?

3 tbsp of Soy sauce.

How much vinegar?

3 tbsp of Vinegar.

What can I use instead?

Calamansi → Lime juice with a little orange juice. Two parts lime to one part orange gets close to calamansi's floral sourness. Annatto seeds → 1 tsp sweet paprika and a pinch of turmeric warmed in the oil. It gives the colour but not the faint earthy flavour.

What should I watch for?

Do not put leftover baste on the rice. The brush has been on raw chicken.

Any tips from this recipe?

Use dark meat. Breast dries out long before the outside has charred. The marinade is sour. Do not leave the chicken in it for more than 24 hours or the texture turns soft. Save the tray drippings. Warmed with the annatto oil you kept back, they are the chicken oil that goes on the rice.

Can I prepare this ahead?

Cut two or three slashes to the bone in each chicken piece, put them in the remaining marinade and rub it into the cuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.