Manok na Naman?!

When I was in grade school, I almost always had fried chicken for my baon. Come Saturday, my mom would marinate several pieces of chicken drumsticks in her favorite soy sauce-calamansi-garlic mixture so that by Monday (all the way up to Friday), the chicken would be ready for frying. She would put the chicken on top of a packed tupperware of rice, cover it and slip it in our lunch boxes. That was our daily routine. When I was in 6th grade, I learned to trade food with my classmates. By the time I was in freshman year in high school, I learned to go to my best friend's house to have lunch there. And trade my fried chicken with whatever food they had.

Don't get me wrong, I love my mom's cooking. But fried chicken every day...

So I'd like to share with you a nice recipe for chicken, which I know kids would love to find in their lunch boxes.

Chicken & Pineapple Skewers with Asian Peanut Sauce Dip

• skewered chicken
• pineapple tidbits, drained
• syrup from the canned pineapple tidbits
• some olive oil (any vegetable oil is ok to use)

I got the skewered chicken fillet from the grocery store, kinda disassembled it, and stuck pineapple chunks alternately with each chicken meat.

Heat a stove top or an electric grill and place chicken-pineapple skewers on top. Baste with pineapple syrup mixed with oil to keep the chicken meat from drying.

While grilling the chicken, make the sauce.

Asian Peanut Dipping Sauce

• 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (or lemon juice)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• 1/3 cup water
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. In a blender puree together peanut butter, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, cayenne, water, salt and pepper until mixture is smooth. (Note: For those who have no electric blenders at home, you may mix everything by hand. Just make sure you chop the garlic really finely so that the kids wouldn't bite into any morsel of garlic.)
2. Transfer sauce to a serving bowl. Makes about 1 cup.

I made this during our New Year's media noche, and if I may say so, my pamangkins loved it!