Step Aside, Chicken Noodle — This Filipino Soup Is The Ultimate Sick Day Comfort

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No matter where you are in the world, there's a comforting dish to eat when you're sick. Most of these sick day meals are a type of soup, porridge, or other warming food to comfort you when you need it the most. Though one American standard soup is a humble bowl of chicken noodle, the Filipino staple, tinolang manok — or, chicken tinola – is a flavorful upgrade to typical chicken soup.

Rich in poultry protein and chock full of aromatic ingredients, including garlic, ginger, and patis (fish sauce), this version of chicken soup hailing from the Philippines is the ultimate sick day soother. Preparing a warming, comforting chicken tinola recipe is fairly simple and can be adapted to suit the availability of certain ingredients. For example, chayote squash is a traditional feature of the soup; however, it can be substituted for green papaya, zucchini, or yellow squash if that is easier to find.

The soup is also enhanced with the addition of rice water, also known as "rice wash," which is essentially the water left behind after soaking a pot of rice for cooking. This helps add an element of starchiness and other essential nutrients. With a clear broth rich in savory flavors and ingredients like ginger and garlic to promote wellness, chicken tinola is one Filipino dish worth trying at least once, though it's likely to become your go-to sick day soup as soon as you do.

This aromatic soup is a perfect sick-day staple no matter where you are in the world. With origins dating back to the 1800s, the warming chicken soup has endured and evolved over time into modern iterations that still hold true to a ginger-rich base and comforting essence. Making your own version of tinola is simpler than ever with the advent of such mixes as Mama Sita's Tinola Ginger Soup Base Mix and others, should you be short on time to prepare a scratch-made broth.

While traditional recipes call for the inclusion of moringa and pepper leaves, you can swap in bok choy and spinach for these greens if you can't readily source them. It's also a good rule of thumb to use your fish sauce sparingly so as not to overpower the soup and, particularly, if you haven't tried it before, as the flavor is pretty bold. You can also get creative by infusing a basic chicken soup with flavors inspired by Filipino cuisine.

Some variations of chicken tinola are served alongside rice, though you can try a Filipino-inspired twist on mish-mosh chicken soups traditionally found at Jewish delis by adding the rice to your soup and throwing in some matzah balls, carrots, and noodles. Additionally, adding ginger and garlic to any chicken soup broth will provide both fuller flavor and extra health benefits. However you wish to enjoy chicken tinola, it will surely comfort you on a sick day or any day.