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Southeast Asia

Piaparan a Manok: Maranao Chicken with Palapa and Coconut Papar

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Piaparan a manok: skinless bone-in chicken coated in golden papar, with coconut soup and white rice on the side
Level
Intermediate
Cuisine
Filipino (Maranao)

Piaparan a manok, Maranao chicken from Mindanao finished in turmeric coconut papar. Learn the two coconut pressings, the palapa, and the safe chicken check.

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 13

Pound the palapa coarsely

Coarse palapa of white spring onion, ginger and chili pounded together
Pale onion rounds and red chili flecks should still show clearly in the bowl

Put the sliced white spring onion, chopped ginger and 1–2 bird's-eye chilies in a food processor. Pulse for 1–2 seconds only, or pound them together in a mortar. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and split it into two equal heaps, one for the soup pot and one for the papar skillet. Stop when everything is chopped and pressed together into a coarse, damp mix. You should still see separate bits of onion, ginger and chili, with no smooth paste.

STEP 22 / 13

Press the thick first cream

The first coconut liquid poured through a strainer to collect thick cream
The squeezed solids stay in the strainer and a side bowl, ready for the second press

Measure out 1 cup of the grated coconut and set it aside untouched for the papar. Put the remaining 3 cups in a large bowl, add 1½ cups (375 ml) water and squeeze the coconut hard with your hands. Pour the mixture through a strainer into a clean bowl. Then press the solids in the strainer to force out the last of the liquid. You are done when one bowl holds thick, white cream and the squeezed solids sit in a bowl of their own.

Keep the solids

Nothing gets thrown away after the first press. The same squeezed coconut gives the thin milk in the next step, and the chicken simmers in that milk. Put the solids in a bowl you will not confuse with the reserved cup.

STEP 33 / 13

Press the thin second milk

The thinner second coconut milk strained into its own bowl
Set the bowls apart. The thin milk runs looser and paler than the cream beside it

Return the squeezed solids to a bowl and add 2 cups (500 ml) water. Squeeze again by hand, then strain into a separate bowl from the cream. Press the solids once more and discard them, because they are now spent. You should have two bowls side by side: thick cream in one, thinner milk in the other.

STEP 44 / 13

Sauté half the aromatics and add half the palapa

Half the palapa added to sautéed aromatics in the pot
When the palapa hits the hot oil, the ginger and chili should smell sharp right away

Divide the onion, garlic, tomato and bell pepper into two equal sets and keep one set aside for the skillet. Heat oil in the pot and sauté the first set until the onion softens and the tomato starts to slump. Add one heap of palapa and stir it through. The pot should hold only half of everything, and the second set of vegetables and palapa should still be waiting on the board.

STEP 55 / 13

Add the chicken and cook covered for 5 minutes

A covered pot of chicken and aromatics cooking
Keep the lid on between checks so the chicken steams in its own juices

Lay the skinless chicken pieces straight from their plate into the pot, without rinsing them. Stir to coat the pieces in the aromatics, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Lift the lid partway through and stir so nothing burns on the bottom. When the 5 minutes are up, the bottom should be clean and no coconut should be in the pot yet.

Raw chicken

Do not wash raw chicken. Rinsing spreads germs around the sink and counter. Keep raw chicken on its own cutting board and plate, away from the coconut, palapa and anything served uncooked. Wash your hands, knife, board and counter after touching it.

STEP 66 / 13

Add turmeric and thin milk and cook covered for 15 minutes

The pot simmering covered in thin coconut milk
Condensation on the lid and yellow broth around the chicken show the covered simmer

Sprinkle 1–2 teaspoons turmeric over the chicken and stir. Pour in the thin second milk, stir again and cover. Cook for 15 minutes and leave the thick cream in its bowl for now. The broth turns an even yellow, and the chicken pieces sit half-submerged in it.

STEP 77 / 13

Add the thick cream, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat

Thick first cream poured into the simmered chicken
The white cream swirls into the yellow broth before the pot comes back to a boil

Pour the thick first cream into the pot around the chicken. Stir gently and bring the soup up to a boil. As soon as it boils, turn off the heat. Your cue is bubbles breaking across the whole surface, followed by a still pot with the burner off.

Thin first, thick last

The thin milk does the long cooking. The thick cream goes in only at the end, so it comes to a boil just once.

STEP 88 / 13

Finish the soup off the heat with green onion and salt

Green spring onion added to the chicken soup with the heat off
Scatter the green onion over the surface and stir it into the warm soup

With the heat still off, add the green part of the spring onion, rinsed well under running water, to the soup. Season with salt to taste and stir. Taste a spoonful of the broth and add salt a little at a time until it tastes rounded. Leave the burner off. The soup is ready when green flecks float through it and it tastes seasoned.

STEP 99 / 13

Sauté the second set of aromatics with the remaining palapa

The remaining palapa added to the aromatics in a separate skillet
This pan has no chicken or coconut yet, only the second round of aromatics

Set a separate skillet over the heat and add oil. Sauté the second set of onion, garlic, tomato and bell pepper until the onion softens. Add the second heap of palapa and stir it through. Leave the soup pot alone. The skillet now holds the other half of everything, and it should smell strongly of ginger and chili.

STEP 1010 / 13

Turn the reserved coconut into papar

Papar coconut mixed until the seasoning spreads evenly
Work the turmeric in until the shreds are uniformly gold, with a few natural fibers showing

Add the reserved 1 cup grated coconut to the skillet. Sprinkle in ½ teaspoon turmeric and salt to taste. Stir and toss until the coconut takes on the color all the way through. The papar is ready when the coconut is an even yellow with no white patches left.

STEP 1111 / 13

Check the chicken, then move it into the papar with a little soup

Chicken mixed with papar and a little soup
A thin layer of liquid under the chicken is all the pan should hold at this point

Before the first piece of chicken leaves the soup, push a food thermometer into the thickest part of a piece, keeping the probe off bone, fat and gristle. It must read 165°F (74°C). If it reads lower, keep cooking the chicken and test again before you move anything. This is a check for you to make with your own thermometer. Once it reads 165°F (74°C), move the chicken into the papar skillet and add about ¼ cup (60 ml) of the soup. Mix until every piece is coated and a little liquid shows at the bottom of the pan.

Only a splash of soup

Only about ¼ cup of soup goes into the papar. That small amount loosens the coconut so it grips the chicken. Keep the rest of the soup in the pot for the table.

STEP 1212 / 13

Cook until nearly dry, add green onion, and turn off the heat

Chicken and papar cooked until the liquid is nearly gone
The pan bottom shows through with only a trace of moisture

Cook the chicken and papar together for about 1 minute, or until the pan is nearly dry. Toss the pieces so the coconut sticks on all sides. Add the green part of the spring onion, rinsed well under running water, then turn off the heat. The chicken is finished when almost no liquid is left on the bottom and the coconut clings to the meat.

STEP 1313 / 13

Serve the chicken, the soup and white rice

Papar-coated chicken served with soup on the side and white rice
Two dishes go out, so each person can choose how much soup goes over their rice

Pile the papar-coated chicken onto a serving plate, scraping in any coconut left in the pan. Ladle the remaining soup into a separate bowl. Bring both to the table with white rice. On the table you should see the dry, golden chicken on one plate and the green-flecked coconut soup in its own bowl.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

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Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Role
Spring onion, white part, sliced (stands in for sakurab) ½ cup Palapa: fresh oniony bite
Ginger, chopped ¼ cup Palapa: warmth and sharpness
Bird's-eye chili 1–2 Palapa: heat. One for mild, two for hot
Chicken, cut into pieces, skin removed 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) The main ingredient, cooked in the soup and finished in papar
Onion, medium, sliced 1 + 1 Aromatics for the soup pot, then for the papar skillet
Garlic, crushed 3 cloves + 3 cloves Aromatics for the soup pot, then for the papar skillet
Tomato, medium, sliced 1 + 1 Aromatics and gentle acidity, in both pans
Bell pepper, sliced as needed Sweetness in both pans. Any color
Spring onion, green part as needed Finishes the soup and the papar. Rinse well under running water first
Turmeric powder 1–2 tsp + ½ tsp Yellow color for the soup, then for the papar
Freshly grated coconut 3 cups + 1 cup 3 cups pressed for cream and milk, 1 cup kept whole for papar
Water 1½ cups (375 ml) + 2 cups (500 ml) First pressing, then second pressing
Salt to taste Seasons the soup and the papar
Cooking oil as needed For sautéing in both pans
White rice, cooked as needed Served alongside
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The last minute of piaparan happens in a skillet. Chicken comes out of a pot of yellow coconut soup and goes into a heap of freshly grated coconut stained gold with turmeric. A splash of the soup follows, and the pan hisses until the coconut clings to the meat and the bottom is almost dry. The rest of the soup is still waiting on the stove, green with spring onion, and it goes to the table in its own bowl next to the rice. Piaparan a manok is chicken cooked the Maranao way, from the Lake Lanao country of Mindanao: sweet with coconut, sharp with ginger, hot from bird's-eye chili, and finished with a coating of grated coconut you can feel between your teeth.

Palapa, Papar and a Pot of Coconut Soup

Three parts on one table

Piaparan is built from three parts. First comes palapa, the coarse pounded seasoning that Maranao cooking starts from. Then there is the chicken and its coconut soup, cooked first in thin coconut milk and finished with thick cream. Last comes papar, the grated coconut fried with turmeric and more palapa, which the chicken is tossed in at the end. The author of the main recipe reads the name as "with papar," after that last part. The chicken and the soup reach the table separately, so each person can keep the coated pieces dry or spoon soup over their rice.

Palapa holds the taste of the dish together. In Maranao kitchens it is pounded from sakurab (also written sakhurab), a native scallion, with ginger and bird's-eye chili. This version uses the white part of an ordinary spring onion in place of the sakurab. It gives a fresh oniony bite, though it does not taste quite like the native scallion. The palapa goes in twice, once into the soup pot and once into the papar skillet, so the ginger and chili come through in both.

A home dish that changes from house to house

Piaparan is family cooking, and each household has its own way of making it. The author of the main recipe remembers this chicken piaparan on her family's Eid table. Other versions bring chicken cube or broth, bay leaf and bottled seasonings into the pot. The version here keeps to fresh coconut pressed by hand, two coconut extracts kept apart, and one cup of grated coconut held back for the papar. The split of turmeric between the soup (1–2 teaspoons) and the papar (½ teaspoon) is our own division of a single listed amount.

Piaparan is not like other Filipino coconut dishes. Laing simmers leaves in coconut milk until they collapse, and sinigang is a sour broth. Piaparan is closer to two dishes served together: a mild coconut soup, and chicken fried almost dry in spiced coconut. For more of the country's cooking, see Philippines.

Pagana, the Maranao table for guests

Maranao hospitality has its own word for a feast laid out to honor guests and mark celebrations: pagana, or kapagana. It is a formal way of serving special food. The material on pagana is about Maranao hospitality in general and does not mention piaparan.

Ingredients

Chicken pieces, grated coconut, palapa aromatics and vegetables laid out together
Keep the grated coconut in two bowls from the start: three cups for pressing, one for the papar

Several items are listed as two amounts joined by "+". The first goes into the soup pot and the second into the papar skillet. Keep the two sets apart from the start.

Allergen information

Coconut is the base of both the soup and the papar and cannot be left out. Fresh chilies are hot. Wash your hands after handling them and keep them away from your eyes. The green spring onion goes in at the end without further cooking, so rinse it well under running water before slicing, and rinse the other vegetables too.

Equipment

  • Food processor, or a mortar and pestle
  • Two or three large bowls and a sturdy fine strainer for pressing coconut
  • A pot with a lid for the chicken and soup
  • A separate skillet or frying pan for the papar
  • A food thermometer
  • A cutting board and plate used only for raw chicken
  • A serving plate and a separate bowl for the soup

Choosing and Substituting

Fresh grated coconut is the one thing to keep. The thick cream, the thin milk and the papar all come from it. Canned coconut milk leaves you without solids for the papar. Dried coconut does not press the same way. Both take you to a different dish, so buy fresh grated coconut wherever it is sold and buy all four cups at once.

Item What works What it changes
Sakurab White part of spring onion Keeps the fresh, sharp onion note in the palapa. It does not taste quite like the native scallion
Bird's-eye chili One chili instead of two Milder palapa in both pans. The ginger comes forward
Bell pepper Any color Green tastes a little sharper, red and yellow a little sweeter. The structure of the dish stays the same
Chicken Bone-in or boneless pieces, skin removed Check the thickest part with a thermometer either way, keeping the probe off bone

The palapa does not need a special tool. Either a food processor pulsed briefly or a mortar will do, provided you stop while the pieces are still coarse.

Method

The work splits into three stretches. First the palapa and the two coconut pressings, all done by hand at the counter before any heat goes on. Then the soup pot, where most of the time is covered cooking: 5 minutes, then 15. Once the soup is off the heat, a second skillet takes the rest of the aromatics and the reserved coconut. Keep raw chicken on its own board and plate throughout.

When It Goes Wrong

What you see Why What to do
There is nothing left to press a second time The solids were thrown out after the first press Put the squeezed solids in their own bowl before you deal with the cream. Without them there is no thin milk
No grated coconut is left for the papar The reserved cup went into the pressing Measure out 1 cup first, before any water touches the coconut
The skillet has no aromatics or palapa to start Everything went into the soup pot Divide the vegetables and palapa into two sets before the heat goes on
The pot bottom starts catching during the 5-minute cook The pot is too dry, or the heat is too high Lift the lid, stir and lower the heat. Keep checking until the thin milk goes in
The papar is wet and heavy Too much soup went into the skillet Keep cooking until the pan is nearly dry. Next time add only about ¼ cup of soup
The thermometer reads under 165°F (74°C) The thickest pieces need more time Keep cooking the chicken and check again. Move nothing into the papar until it reads 165°F (74°C)

Serving, Variations and Storage

At the table

Piaparan goes to the table as two dishes and rice: the papar-coated chicken on a plate and the coconut soup in a bowl. Spoon some soup over the rice, take a piece of chicken with its coconut, and you get both textures in one mouthful. The soup is mild and creamy. The coating carries the heat and the ginger.

Variations

  • Sakurab palapa. If you can find the native scallion, use it in place of the white spring onion for the palapa that Maranao cooking is built on.
  • Hotter or milder. Use two bird's-eye chilies for real heat in both pans, or one for a gentler dish. Since the palapa is split evenly, the soup and the papar change heat together.
  • Broth and bay leaf. Some versions cook the chicken with chicken cube or broth and bay leaf. That is a different recipe from the one here.

Storage

Cool leftovers and refrigerate them in shallow, covered containers within two hours of cooking. If the room is above 90°F (32°C), refrigerate them within one hour. Reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C) before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the soup go into the papar at all if it is served separately?

A small splash helps the coconut stick. Dry grated coconut does not cling to chicken. A little soup turns it tacky, and the minute of cooking drives the liquid off and sets the coating. The rest of the soup is there for the rice.

Can I make the palapa ahead?

This recipe makes it at the start, before any heat goes on, and a brief pulse takes only seconds. No make-ahead time is given, so pound it when you begin cooking.

Bone-in or boneless chicken?

Either works, as long as the skin is off. When you check the chicken, place the thermometer in the thickest meat, away from bone, fat and gristle.

Can I press the coconut in a blender instead of by hand?

Squeezing by hand lets you feel when the coconut has given up its cream. It also keeps the solids intact for the second press. Do the squeezing by hand and use the strainer to press out the last of the liquid.

Sources