Introducing Chi-Khan Inasal
“To be successful once, you need to fail a hundred times”, says Aamir Roxas Khan, Pakistani-Filipino founder and owner of Chi-Khan Inasal.
His now-booming business has seen its share of failures; in fact, prior to chicken inasal (roast chicken), Aamir’s first foray into catering saw him selling leche flan, a popular Filipino crème caramel dessert.
Full of optimism, he ventured out one Sunday and approached groups of migrant workers enjoying their rest days, offering them leche flan. It wasn’t a resounding success; of the 20 pieces he went out with, he came back home with 19. The other one he had eaten himself.
Far from feeling dejected, Aamir gave his plan a bit more thought, “People don’t want to buy from me because they don’t know who I am,” he thought. “To them, I’m just a random guy selling food on the street. I have to build my brand and their trust first.”
Before Chi-Khan Inasal, Aamir worked for Cebu Pacific, where he encountered many inspiring stories from Filipino migrants flying back to the Philippines. Aside from the obvious excitement of seeing family, he also noticed that for many, getting to eat their favourite food again was a big part of their trip.
For Aamir, his go-to was always the roast chicken from [Philippine chain restaurant] Mang Inasal. And it was that memorable taste of home that would ultimately lead him and his mom, Malou, on their own journey, through many, many failures, to finally setting upon the perfect timpla (mixture) for their own chicken inasal.
He started selling the chicken to migrant workers on their day-off, listening to their feedback, and continually going back to the drawing board to further improve and fine-tune the timpla.
After numerous tries, one day Aamir turned to his mom and said, “Ma, yan na ang perfect timpla!” (Ma, that’s the perfect mixture!). That has been the taste of their signature chicken inasal ever since.
While him and Mommy Malou were perfecting the recipe, Aamir also worked on the branding. With the help of a designer friend, together they came up with the logo, colours, and the name.
As the positive feedback started to pour in, word of their delicious chicken inasal quickly spread, with Facebook posts going viral and their page following steadily increasing. What started as 10 lunchboxes grew so much that their home kitchen could no longer accommodate the orders.
Enter Aamir’s good friend and previous boss Kul Didi, owner of Sobremesa restaurant in Elgin Street. Aamir pitched her the idea of selling his Chi-Khan Inasal menu alongside her Spanish tapas menu, giving not just homesick Filipinos, but all patrons, the chance to try this classic dish for themselves.
The rest, as they say, is history. With 11,000 Facebook fans and features on ABS-CBN and RTHK, Chi-Khan has found the perfect timpla of connecting with the community and staying true to their mission, of bringing Filipino inasal meals to Hong Kong.
Chicken inasal recipe
Ingredients:
· Chicken leg
· For marinade and sawsawan (sauce):
· Soy sauce
· Vinegar
· Chilli
· Calamansi
· Sugar
For the marinade, mix equal parts soy sauce and vinegar, adding the rest of the ingredients as per your personal preference.
– Asked about her own special timpla, Mommy Malou simply smiles and shares, “Prayer. Yan ang special ingredient ko!” (Prayer. That’s my special ingredient!)
Mix the marinade well then add the chicken leg(s). Keep in the refrigerator overnight, for at least 12 hours.
Inasal is best cooked over hot coals or a grill but roasting in an oven also works. Allow 15-20 minutes (depending on method) to thoroughly cook the meat.
Serve with homemade sawsawan, prepared according to taste.
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