Bacolod Stuff

Chicken barbeuce or chicken inasal may sound and look the same anywhere you go. But why do you keep hearing that Bacolod’s chicken inasal is simply the best tasting chicken barbecue ever?

I had to go all the way to Manila to discover the secret of Bacolod chicken inasal from a chicken house owner operating at Makati Cinema Square.

Toto Tarrosa explains that Aida’s Chicken House uses only vinegar coming from Bacolod. For his chicken inasal, he orders his vinegar by bulk from a trusted source as the secret also lies with the mananggete himself, the coconut harvester and tuba^ (coconut wine) producer.

He reveals that unlike the other vinegars commonly available in the local market, vinegar from Bacolod or from other areas in the province of Negros Occidental follows a more intricate process. While other vinegar producers get the vinegar straight from the coconut tree, Bacolod vinegar is produced by first fermenting coconut wine and then turning it into vinegar. Thus, Bacolod vinegar has a wine-sweet taste that permeates into the chicken marinade.

Plus, everybody knows that the secret of good food is that you sprinkle it with l-o-v-e. As the Ilonggos love to cook and serve for their guests, their love goes out to the food they serve.

So why don’t you try a chicken inasal for yourself today? Don’t be fooled by some outlets that use the name “Bacolod” to brand their chicken barbecue. It’s not just the name. And you already know the secret.

Kaon ta anay*! (Let’s eat in the meantime!)

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*anay – termite, thus the joke that Ilonggos eat termites. But in this context, anay loosely means “in the meantime” or “in the interim that you are waiting for something”.