Caldereta

Caldereta was adapted from the Spaniards when they occupied the Philippines for 300 years. Originally it was a goat stew cooked with tomatoes, potatoes, spices, liver, peas, olives, bell peppers and hot peppers. Now it is one of the popular dishes in the Philippines especially in the northern part which is Luzon. You can

cook Caldereta using various types of meat ranging from pork, beef, chicken, goat or sometimes game meats. Usually in small eateries, festivities, parties, celebrations or special occasions you will see Caldereta being served.

On my next posts you will see variants of Caldereta dishes like pork, beef and chicken. We'll stick with the common but I do want to inform you that most native people here in the Luzon surely will like a Duck or  Goat Caldereta.

#caldereta #calderetangbaka #calderetangbaboy #calderetangmanok #pilipinoexpress

Mechado

Traditionally Mechado is cooked using cheap parts of meat, just put them all in 1 pot and boil the hell out of them. But now its a different ballgame, we sometimes use high end cuts of meat, we also use beef, poultry or game. Mechado was a Spanish influence in the Philippine Culinary.

Ingredients

• 1 Kg of Pork (Preferably Pork Shoulder w/ Fat)
• 2 cups of Tomato Sauce
• 1/4 Cup of Vinegar
• 1/2 Cup of Tomato Paste
• 1 Onion, minced
• 2 Green Bell Peppers, Chopped
• 4-5 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 2 Large Potatoes, Cut in cubes
• 2 Carrots, Cut in cubes
• Pork Stock
• 1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Long Green Chillies, chopped (Optional)

Procedure

• In a large pan, saute garlic and onion
• Add the pork let it brown
• Add the Vinegar, bay leaf, salt and black pepper, let it simmer for about 5-10mins (low fire), do not stir
• Add Soy Sauce, Tomato Sauce & Tomato paste, let it boil
• Add 1 cup of Pork Stock, let it boil (Add pork stock accordingly, just balance the sauce not too saggy not too thick)
• Add the Potatoes and Carrots, Let it simmer til potatoes and carrots softens
• Secret ingredient.... 1 tbsp of Sugar. Believe me, when you are cooking using tomato sauce sugar really helps bring out the flavor.
• Add Green Bell Peppers and Long green Chillies, let it simmer for another 3-5mins. Ready to serve! :)

Best eaten with a mix of fish sauce w/ chillis on the side.

Kare-Kare

Kare-Kare is considered a Stew, normally an oxtail would be perfect but these days some uses lean meat, pork belly, tripe (i love this), chicken and sometimes seafood. But if you know me I would stick to the original just like paying homage to the dish.

Ingredients:

• 1kg of Oxtail, Chopped into 2" length
• 1/2 Cup of Peanut butter (unsweetened)
• 1 stack of Long Beans, cut into 2" length (Sitaw)
• 3-4 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 tbsp of Achuete/Atsuete
• 1 Large Eggplant, Cut in half and cut into 2" length
• 2 stack of Pechay or Bokchoy
• 2 tbsp of Shrimp paste
• 4-5 tbsp of Peanut, crushed finely (secret ingredient, makes a huge difference)

 Procedure

• Oxtail Procedure
• In a large pot or pressure cooker boil the oxtail until tender, pressure cooker will only take about 45mins to an hour a normal boiling may take 1hr 30mins to 2hrs depends on the meat.
• Once meat is tender remove the meat from the broth but set aside the broth please.
• Achuete/Atsuete Procedure
• In a pan put about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and start stir frying the atchuete until the oil turns reddish, mostly takes about 5mins
• strain the achuete and set aside the oil
• Now time to get a "wok" if you don't have one you can use a regular deep pan.
• Add half of the achuete oil and saute garlic and onions, let them caramelize
• Add the shrimp paste, saute for another 2mins
• Add the meat, saute for another 2mins
• Gently add the stock, we start at 2cups, we will gradually add the remaining stock if the dish gets dried out
• Add the peanut butter, make sure you stir it properly so we avoid clumps
• Add the beans cook for 5mins
• Add eggplant cook for another 5mins
• Add the Bokchoy cook for another 2mins
• Lastly add the crushed peanuts and again please stir the dish properly
• Let it simmer for about 2mins
• Consistency check.... If the sauce is too thick we need to add a bit of our stock.

*NOTE: Best eaten with shrimp paste as a side, chillis optional.

#karekare #pilipinoexpress

Sinigang na Baka (Beef)

All I can say about Sinigang na Baka (Beef) is that you need a lot of patience to wait for it to cook, but the wait is worth every second. There is a saying that "Patience is a Virtue", well that would really apply on this dish. lol

Ingredients

• 1 kg of Beef Shanks (w/ meat)
• 1 Large Radish (Labanos) - Chopped
• 2 Large Onions - Sliced
• 2 Large Tomatoes - Sliced
• 1 Stack of String Beans (Sitaw) - Cut (2" length)
• 5pcs of Large Okra - Cut in 3 parts
• 3 - 4 pcs of Taro Root (Gabi) - Cubed
• 1 - 2 Stack of Water Spinach (Kangkong) - Cut (2" length, remove the bottom part which is hard just take the soft part of the Water Spinach)
• 3 - 4 pcs of Long Green Chili/Finger Chili (Siling Mahaba)
• 500g of Tamarind (You can use ready made tamarind powder or Sinigang Mixes but nothing beats the original. :D)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 750ml of Water

Procedure

•  Tamarind Procedure
• Wash and clean the Tamarinds  
• Boil Tamarind in a Separately, cook until tamarind is soft
• Remove the Tamarind from boiled water (do not throw away the water)
• Get a bowl and mash the tamarinds add a cup of the boiled water
• Strain the mixture when all is mashed to remove the seeds and skin of the Tamarind
• Set aside the strained mixture of Tamarind
• In a large pot add the 750ml of water, bring to a boil
• Add the Beef Shanks, Cook for about 20 - 25 mins (Or until the meat is tender)
• Remove or skim the floating scum that is on top of the pot, this is a must for me
• Now add the Taro Root/Gabi, Cook for another 10mins
• Mash half of the Taro Root/Gabi this will thicken the broth and it will give extra flavor, another must for me.
• Add onions, tomatoes, long green chili/finger chili and radish, Cook for another 5mins
• Add salt, pepper and Tamarind Mixture, Cook for another 10mins
• Add the string beans, cook for another 10mins.
• Add Okra, cook for 5mins (low heat)  
• Finally add the water spinach, cook for another 10mins (low heat)
• Now the dish is ready to serve and best eaten with fish sauce as a condiment, get the long green chili's and mash it with a 2 tbsp of fish sauce. Enjoy :)  

*NOTE: You may add additional water if needed.

#sinigangnabaka #beefsinigang #pilipinoexpress