It’s been a long time since I’ve thought of sharing with you one of my favorite dishes to cook. It’s always on my monthly menu – sometimes twice a month especially when there’s a sale on chicken breasts. This dish is called Pastil and I’ve shared a recipe video on my YouTube for visuals.
Pastil is an on-the-go meal that is wrapped in a banana leaf. It is usually sold by street-side vendors and sometimes along with some of our street foods like chicken barbecue, grilled chicken liver, and many more. Often, it is enjoyed by students, people who are in a hurry to go somewhere, workers and travelers. Since it wrapped in banana leaves, it can be eaten like how you eat a banana. This is done when you are inside the car and sometimes, you can see students walking on the way to school with a Pastil in their hand, enjoying it.
Inside this banana leaf, you will find rice and a topping. The topping can be shredded chicken, minced beef or shredded fish. We (Muslims) call the topping “Kagikit”. Kagikit is very easy to make. If making the simplest version, you will only need the choice of meat you will use then onion, garlic, soy sauce, and ground black pepper, and oil for cooking the Kagikit.
Making Kagikit is very easy. Let’s say we will use chicken as our meat. We need to boil the chicken, let it cool down then it’s time to shred it. In shredding the chicken, you can use your clean hands or a food processor. If using food processor and using chicken breasts, we only need to chop the chicken breasts into smaller pieces to fit them in the food processor then we can turn on the machine. After this, we can cook our topping. We just have to sauté onion and garlic in oil then add the chicken. The only thing that we use to flavor the chicken is soy sauce and ground black pepper. The idea here is just to let the chicken absorb the soy sauce. When you are happy with your Kagikit, we can proceed with the wrapping part.
In wrapping, we have to wilt the banana leaves (after washing and drying) using the fire on the stove. You can also use kitchen torch. Before wrapping the rice and Kagikit, make sure to lightly grease the leaves with oil – this is to avoid the rice from sticking to the leaves. In this step, make sure not to overdo the rice and the topping or else it will be difficult to wrap.
When eating Pastil, I personally like it with boiled egg, a sauce on the side and calamansi. When at home, I usually eat it with my clean hands – it is a part of our culture, to eat with our hands. This can also be eaten with roasted chicken like how we enjoy it in our home. We also serve this during gatherings (instead of packed lunches) along with Chicken Piaparan.
I hope you’ve learned something from me today and you know you are very much welcome to watch the recipe video of this Pastil. If you have time, you can also check my YouTube channel, maybe you can find something that’s interesting to you. If you do find something, please don’t forget to hit the subscribe button so you will be updated when I share something new and delicious. 😉
I am bringing this amazing dish to this Fiesta Friday #295, hosted by Angie and this week’s co-host is Mollie @ Frugal Hausfrau. Thank you, Angie and Mollie.
Pastil Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g chicken breasts
- Water to boil the chicken
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
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In a pot, add water and chicken. Boil over high heat, about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Drain the chicken and let it cool down. When the chicken has cooled down, shred using your clean hands or a food processor.
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Using a skillet over medium-high heat, add oil. When oil is hot enough, add garlic and cook until light golden brown. Add chopped onions and cook until translucent.
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Add the shredded chicken and soy sauce (you add more later on if you like). Mix it so the chicken absorbs the soy sauce. Cover the skillet for 5 minutes. Remove the cover and mix again. This time, if you’d like to add oil, you can add it or maybe soy sauce. The oil is added so the chicken doesn’t get too dry. Cover the skillet again and check if you like the taste and texture. For me, I like it on the toasted side so I cook it longer and just check the chicken from time to time to avoid burning it. (Please watch the video for visuals. It is in Tagalog, but it is shown there the color and texture.)
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By this time, make sure you have your cooked rice ready.
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For the banana leaves, wash and dry the leaves. I used about 9 x 9 inches. Wilt them using the fire on a stove or a kitchen torch. When done, it is time for wrapping. Lightly grease with oil using a tissue. Put rice and then the topping, making sure not to overdo it so you won’t tear the leaves and it won’t be difficult to wrap.
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This is ready to be eaten. You can serve this with a soy-chili sauce on the side or even with with boiled egg.
Thanks a bunch for spending your precious time with me!
I am also sharing this at
Happiness is Homemade | What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link up #220 | Mix it up Monday | Melt in your Mouth Monday Recipe Blog Hop #430 | Full Plate Thursday,451 | Cook Blog Share |
