Chicken Tocino

There’s no need to buy Chicken Tocino! This homemade recipe is easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought. It features tender chicken pieces cured in a perfectly sweet-and-savory marinade. Serve with garlic fried rice and a sunny-side-up egg (Tosilog) for the best Filipino breakfast.

What better food to break our fast than a hearty silog plate? Runny yolks, garlic-studded fried rice, sweet and salty cured meats...mmm, mmm, mmm! Best way to start the day, any day.

Silog, for the uninitiated, is the colloquial term used to describe a classic Filipino breakfast made up of fried rice (sinangag), sunny-side-up eggs (itlog), and meat of choice such as beef tapa (tapsilog), longganisa (longsilog) pork tocino (tosilog), and daing na bangus (bangsilog).

Chicken tocino might confuse those unfamiliar with Filipino food culture, as tocino technically means pork or, more specifically, the belly part of the pig. In the Philippines, however, the term tocino is associated with the process of preserving meat with sugar, salt, and spices, and it includes any protein cured in this marinade.

Filipino tocino ingredients

While you can use leaner chicken breasts, I recommend boneless, skinless thigh or leg meat for this recipe, as it contains more fat and is harder to overcook, resulting in tastier, juicier meat.

My pork tocino recipe is marinated in a simple mixture of sugar, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and red food coloring. I kicked up the flavor of this chicken version by adding pineapple juice for tang and banana ketchup for color.

I like to use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic to get all the flavor without the little bits to bite into.

How to make chicken tocino

We live about an hour from the nearest Asian supermarket, where I can buy tocino, tapa, or longganisa, so I've made it a habit to make these Filipino breakfast classics at home and freeze them for when cravings hit. All I need are basic pantry staples and about 5 minutes, which is a lot less time than it would take us to get to the store.

Just combine the pineapple juice, banana ketchup, garlic powder, sugar, and salt, and massage onto the meat. Refrigerate overnight to cure. Do not marinate in the refrigerator for too long, as the acidity of the pineapple juice may denature proteins and make the meat mushy.

You can pan-fry the tocino directly in oil, but for the best texture, simmer it in water until tender. When the meat is cooked through and most of the liquid has been absorbed, add a little oil and continue cooking until caramelized.

How to serve

• Serve the chicken tocino with garlic fried rice and sunny-side-up eggs for a hearty silog breakfast. Add a side of tomato salad or spicy vinegar for dipping (sawsawan) and atchara as a palate cleanser!
• Sandwich in warm pandesal loaves for a filling midday snack.
• Cut into bite-sized pieces, skewer with bamboo sticks, and grill over hot coals until cooked through and nicely charred for fun party food.
• Add to stir-fried noodles or fried rice for a quick lunch.

How to store

• Cooked- transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat in a wide pan over low heat, turning as needed, until completely heated. Or microwave at 1 to 2-minute intervals. For bulk reheating, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet, cover tightly with foil, and bake at 350°F until heated through.
• Uncooked- after marinating in the refrigerator, transfer the cured meat to resealable bags or airtight containers and freeze for up to 6 months. To ensure even cooking, thaw in the refrigerator completely before frying.