Most Appetizing Chicken Gizzards | Balunbalunan ng Manok Recipe

This dish is best served with warm plain rice or with mashed potato or on its own as appetizer a.k.a. "pulutan" (when drinking an alcohol beverage).

It would be great if you can buy the chicken gizzards that are already thoroughly clean as it saves so much time for the preparation.

Cleaning of the chicken gizzards is the most tedious process of this recipe. But once you've tried and tasted this dish, all the effort makes it worth your while…I promise! 🙏🙏🙏

Marinating Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Sprite or 7-up

½ cup dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Main Ingredients:

1 ½ kg chicken gizzards (balunbalunan ng manok)

3 tablespoons cooking oil

1 medium size onion, chopped

1 bulb/head of garlic, minced

½ of large size or 1 medium size yellow bell pepper, diced

2 medium size green peppers, diced

3 medium size red peppers, diced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

¾ cup green peas

½ cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon granulated (white) sugar

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

½ teaspoon Thyme leaves

½ teaspoon whole peppercorns

Salt, ½ teaspoon or to taste

Ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon or to taste

Cleaning the Chicken Gizzards:

1. After sanitizing the sink and the tools to be used, wash the gizzards under running cold water. Drain the excess water.

2. Trim off the fat. Ensure there are no longer traces of interior sediments and yellow interior membrane on each one of them. Discard all the unnecessary parts of the gizzards.

3. Rinse with running cold water.

4. To remove the foul poultry smell, pour in about ½ cup of white vinegar and about 2 tablespoons of salt. For a few minutes or until you feel that everything is smooth, rub the gizzards to loosen any stubborn debris. Discard the vinegar mixture. Rinse twice with running cold water then completely drain it. Place the gizzards in a bowl big enough that will still fit the marinating mixture when added.

Note: Wash and sanitize again the surrounding sink and all the kitchen tools used after cleaning the gizzards.

Marinating Instructions:

1. Pour in the Sprite and the soy sauce into the bowl with gizzards.

2. Add ground black pepper. Mix well.

3. Put it in the fridge and marinate for at least 3 hours or better yet, if overnight.

4. After marinating accordingly, drain it completely and discard the Sprite mixture.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Using a sauté pan, pre-heat the cooking oil at medium-high heat. For a minute or two, pan fry the tri-colored peppers until they start to turn bright. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

2. Turn the burner to medium heat. Using the same pan and remaining oil, sauté the garlic for about 30 seconds or until it starts turning to slightly golden brown.

3. Add the onions and sauté until they start to turn soft.

4. Add the marinated gizzards and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add the soy sauce. Mix well to coat the meat. Cover the pan and bring to boil. Stir occasionally.

6. Lower the heat and simmer for 40-60 minutes.

7. Add ground black pepper, whole peppercorns, thyme leaves, sugar and salt. Stir well to incorporate the ingredients into the meat.

8. Add the vinegar. Cover the pan and continue to simmer without stirring until its liquid subsides to half.

9. Add the tomato paste and the green peas. Mix thoroughly then cover and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Add water at ¼ cup increment, if needed.

10. Once the gizzards are fully cooked (chewy but tender) and it reached the right consistency (thickness) of the sauce, add the pan-fried peppers. Simmer further for 2 minutes.

11. Turn off the heat. Let it sit for a few minutes and allow to absorb the sauce more into the mixture.

Mmmmm…smell sooo yummy and my mouth is watering already! Can’t wait until it is ready… I started to keep picking and eating even before I added the peppers! 😋

If you liked this recipe, please click the "like" and "share" buttons above.

Thanks for dropping by. 😊

Watch how to cook the most appetizing chicken gizzards: