PININYAHANG MANOK (Pineapple Chicken)
Tita Becky •
October 14, 2025
This dish is one of my favorite “lutong bahay” or homestyle dish that my mom used to make when I was a litte kid. It’s a type of chicken stew cooked in pineapple juice, milk and spices. “Pininyahang Manok” literally translates to “Pineapple Chicken in Tagalog. It typically has bone-in chicken, onion, garlic, pineapple chunks and it’s juice, milk, fish sauce, potatoes, carrots and bell peppers. It’s milky, savory and slightly sweet and delicious!
To make it, saute the garlic and onions until fragrant over medium high heat. Add chicken and season with salt, black pepper and fish sauce. Saute and cook until brown and fat renders. Add pineapples and it’s juice, milk and fish sauce. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Potatoes and carrots are added and cooked for another 7 minutes or until vegetables are fully cooked. Bell peppers are added in the end and cook for another 2 minutes. Taste the sauce if it needs more salt or fish sauce and it’s ready to enjoy over steamed white rice.
It’s important season the chicken with salt, fish sauce and black pepper, let them brown over medium-high heat and let the fat render before adding the liquids. This process took about 5-7 minutes.
Ingredients (11)
Ingredients (11)
Instructions
Preheat a wok or pan to medium-high heat.
Add cooking oil (1 Tbsp).
Add garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes or until fragrant.
Add bone-in chicken (2 lb) and season with salt (¼ tsp), black pepper (¼ tsp) and fish sauce (1 tsp). Saute', brown the meat and let the fat render.
Add whole milk (1 cup), pineapple chunks (10 oz), pineapple juice (10 oz) and stir. Cover, bring to a boil them reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is fully cooked.
Season with fish sauce (1 Tbsp) and add potatoes (1 large) and carrots (1 large). Stir. Cover and cook until vegetables are cooked.
Add bell peppers (1 small) and cook for another 2 minutes.
Taste the sauce if it needs more salt (¼ tsp), fish sauce (1 Tbsp) or black pepper (¼ tsp). If the seasoning is to your liking then it's ready to serve.
Enjoy with steamed white rice, duh!
Notes
Notes
INGREDIENTS and SUBSTITUTIONS
- WHOLE MILK plays a significant role in enhancing the flavor of the dish. It adds richness and creaminess and it also tenderizes the chicken. You can also use evaporated milk or coconut milk if you’re allergic to dairy.
- BONE-IN CHICKEN like chicken wings, chicken thighs and drumsticks are the best cut of meat for this recipe. It has more flavor and ideal for slow cooking. I don’t recommend a lean cut of chicken like chicken breast for this recipe.
- PINEAPPLE CHUNKS and JUICE is the ingredient that gives a little sweetness to this dish and helps tenderize the chicken. You can use tidbits too. Just make sure you use canned pineapples with “NO SUGAR” added so you won’t end up with a dish that’s too sweet.
- FISH SAUCE is the main seasoning in this dish to flavor the chicken and broth. It adds umami and depth of flavor to the dish that you can’t achieve with just salt. You can also use chicken powder or bouillon cube if you’re allergic to fish, but fish sauce is enough for me.
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