A meal to die for Chicken Supreme ala Dr. Jose Rizal: 21st Edition Lasang Pinoy Food Blogging Event

One of the most fascinating part of Dr. Jose Rizal's short live life was during his exile in Dapitan. Far from the political limelight he lived an ordinary but a meaningful life. Quoting from his letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt describing how simple it was:

"I shall tell you how we lived here. I have three houses - one square, another hexagonal, and the third octagonal. All these houses are made of bamboo, wood, and nipa. I live in the square house, together with my mother, my sister, Trinidad, and my nephew. In the octagonal house live some young boys who are my pupils. The hexagonal house is my barn where I keep my chickens...."

The life he shared with the last woman of his life Josephine Bracken in Dapitan was also worth noting though most often been discretely discussed. How he praised her for being an ideal and loving housewife. In his letter for her sister he quoted:

"She cooks, washes, takes care of the chickens and the house. In the absence of miki for making pancit, she made some long macaroni noodles out of flour and eggs, which serves the purpose. If you could send me a little angkak, I should be grateful to you, for she makes bagoong. She makes also chili miso, but it seems to me that what we have will last for 10 years....."

And if I were to rewrite a part of our Philippine history for this food blogging event, Dr. Jose Rizal at the eve of his deportation to Manila (for his trial) improvised this last romantic tete a tete dinner for her wife.



A dinner of Chicken Supreme a la Dr. Jose Rizal calls for: A young native chicken marinated in herbes and roasted to perfection inside a palayok. And for the white sauce his ingenuity calls for sauteing young onions on chicken drip and deglacing it afterwards with half a cup of lambanog and thickening it with 5 spoonful of coconut cream. The chicken is then served over a bed of pan-fried mushrooms, accompanied by carrots and Josephine Bracken's homemade fresh pasta.


And for the dessert a simple but mouthwatering "pugon" baked sublime chocolate tart done with beaten eggs, freshly grinded bitter sweet cacao and coconut cream over a crumbly pastry tart with a hint of pili nuts and melting caramel of panotsa inside.

As I put it, only a Dr. Jose Rizal could pull a romantic dinner like this. Bon Appetit!