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As a new mom, I was concerned about breastfeeding. Even before I gave birth to my son, I was reminded several times to make sure to eat some chicken tinola with malunggay. It is believed that malunggay (or moringa) is a galactagogue that helps increase breastmilk production but it also has other nutritional benefits for a new mom.
This is why my friends brought me chicken tinola with malunggay at the hospital shortly after I gave birth. I also ate it several times in the first few months (thanks to my husband!) to increase my breastmilk supply.
You can add moringa to other things to eat (like scrambled eggs!) but eating it in a chicken soup like this is very comforting for a new and tired mom. I’m so glad that we are now living in a place where I can easily pick malunggay in our front yard. Let me know if you want some!
Malunggay Increase Milk Supply
In addition to a regular pump schedule, malunggay has helped me exceed my breastfeeding goal of one year. My son even had a hard time taking the bottle and would rather drink straight from the tap so all the pumping I was doing was to maintain my supply while I was at work.
The milk I pumped for him was donated in the past year to three different moms and babies who needed them. I gave over 100 oz of frozen milk to each of them on three separate occasions. Now that my son is over a year old, I’m trying to wean him but it’s hard!
Because of my experience, I want to share our chicken tinola with malunggay recipe below to help breastfeeding moms like myself. Even if you are not breastfeeding, this is a yummy dish for everyone in the family especially around wintertime or cold/flu season.
Buy organic chicken and vegetables at places like Whole Foods for a more wholesome meal. You can also cook chicken tinola on an Instant Pot to save time. Please note that these measurements are just estimates as, like many Asian cooks, we just measure by taste and memory!
Recipe: Chicken Tinola with Malunggay
Ingredients
- 6 pieces Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed (you could also use other parts of the chicken but you have to make sure it’s thoroughly cooked inside)
- 6 cups of water or chicken broth
- 1 cup malunggay leaves (add more if you want!)
- 1 medium Green or unripe papaya, cubed
- 1 Knorr chicken cube (use only if using water)
- Half an onion, diced/minced/however you like it (I don’t like the texture of onions so I use onion powder or cut them in huge slices so I can easily pick it out)
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 thumbs of ginger cut into small stripes
- 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 light dashes of black pepper
Instructions
- Saute onions, garlic, and ginger with the vegetable oil in a large pot.
- Add chicken pieces until it gets a light sear.
- Add the water plus chicken cube or just chicken broth.
- Let it boil until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove the scum.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked, reduce the heat to medium and add the papaya.
- Continue cooking until the papaya is fork tender then add the malunggay.
- Add fish sauce and black pepper to taste. Put in one tablespoon of fish sauce at a time until it reaches your desired taste because it can get too salty!
- Eat with rice!
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