My curiosity for this herb started years back when I posted this spice pack on my Instagram, and my old boss responded that its called SIBOT. A mix of Chinese spices, that I swear, smells like heaven!

I didn’t know how to cook with it yet so I’ve been stocking up on these spices waiting for a eureka moment to hit me on how I can use this magical pack of herbs. Fast forward to the present, I’ve been cooking with this from time to time especially if I need that hearty soup to give me a pick-me-up-mood at the end of the day. Plus, in Chinese tradition, it's known as a medicinal soup. So that’s just a great bonus to have if you are making this dish.

This chicken Sibot soup is actually my local take on the traditional Chinese Chicken Black Soup. Since hunting a black chicken is close to impossible in the Philippines, we are going to stick with our usual dressed chicken. And for this recipe, I used chicken thighs. But you can use any other chicken parts as well.

INGREDIENTS:

4 pieces of chicken thighs with bone-in.

1-liter water

2 packs sibot pack

1 large carrot - cut into cubes

1 medium-size sweet potato (camote) - cut into cubes

2 medium-size radish - cut into cubes

Salt to taste

PROCEDURE:

1. On a pot, bring the water to boil and add in the chicken meat. Cook it for 15 minutes. While it boils, remove the white froth that forms on top of the broth.

1. Then add in the sibot herbs. Continue to let it cook for about 15 mins.

1. Add in the sliced sweet potato, carrots. Then salt to taste. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.

1. I wanted the radish to retain that crunchy texture, so I made sure to add it to the last part along with the goji berries, and just let it cook for 3 to 5 more minutes.

1. Serve in a bowl and enjoy!

Sinugba has always been a staple weekend sort-of-life celebratory dish in the Philippines. You know your neighbor is making sugba when you get a sniff of that smokey charcoal aroma in your neighborhood.

And for a chick who grew up in Gensan where we are abundant in seafood, most specially the priced tuna, sugba (which means to-grill in English) has been a regular thing. So for this video, I will show you how to make a sinugba marinade and glaze that is TRULY Filipino in flavor.

Full list of ingredients and measurements:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cup water
4 cloves of garlic - chopped
2 bird’s eye chili - chopped (optional)
2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon tomato sauce

PROCEDURE:

1.In a large container, mix the the soy sauce, water, crushed garlic, chili, salt, and ground black pepper.
2.Add your choiced fish meat, and marinade for at least 1 hour to 3 hours.
3.Then grill your marinated mixture.

GLAZE:
1.Strain 2 cups of the marinade mixture, and cook over low heat.
2.Add the tomato sauce and sugar, and stir until you have a thick consistency. Set aside.
3.While on the half part of the grilling process, brush the glaze to meat and allow to cook for 5 minutes.

Note: De-glaze for the second or third time if needed.