How dare you not liking the "like button" after looking at this delicious picture? How dare you not trying this recipe when it's sooooo good? How dare you reading without trying? I dare you to get up and cook! :)
Afritada can be cooked with pork or chicken. The word "afritada" means meat stew made colorful with green & red bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and potatoes. When I cook pork afritada style, I cut the meat and vegetables in cubes, however, I cook my chicken afritada style in bigger sizes. It's because chicken has small bones and we need to cut it in pieces like shown below. So, however you cut your meat, that's the way you will cut your vegetables. I got it from observing different food at restaurants, food in airports, in the cruise ship kitchen counters, etc. In short, I am a food inspector. Sometimes. :)
Chicken Afritada
Pork Afritada
Ingredients. To get familiar with ingredients always categorize or group them so when you go grocery shopping you won't forget one or two ingredients. This recipe is so convenient because if you will have left over potatoes and carrots you can always use them to cook for something else or even make carrot juice! Don't buy a lot of bell peppers and onions because they won't last for a long time. You just need one red and green bell peppers, and half of the whole red onion.
Meat Vegetables Seasoning
Chicken Potatoes Salt & Pepper
Or pork Carrots Garlic
R/G bell peppers Fish sauce (optional)
1 cup of tomato sauce
Onions
Green peas (optional)
Preparation may take 35 minutes. Estimated cooking time will be 45 minutes, but that's including your preparation. I use to prepare while I'm cooking at the same time. Go ahead and put your chicken in a pot with 1 quart of water to make chicken broth, this is optional if you don't have broth in your pantry. But, I like making my own fresh chicken broth. Don't forget to add half tbsp of salt in the water. Let it come to a boil, then simmer. While you are simmering the chicken, peel and slice potatoes and carrots. Next, slice your bell peppers and onion (I prefer red onion). Don't forget to mince your garlic. Tips: Since garlic is really tough, first put it in the microwave and zap it for 15-20 seconds. Then it will be ready to peel and chop. Or, you can smash it with your cutting knife flat side, peel then chop.
In a cooking pot or wok, heat oil. When oil is ready, cook the meat (this is the meat that you used for broth, please save the broth for later). When slightly brown, set it aside. On the same pot, sauté garlic and onions. Add meat and pour sliced tomatoes or canned tomato sauce. Add the broth you made. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until the meat is almost cooked. Add potatoes and carrots, continue to cook for 10 minutes. Add the bell peppers, simmer it for a couple of minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
The last one is optional. I always add cornstarch and water at the very end to thicken the sauce. I learned this when I was in Taiwan. My employer at the restaurant that I worked at in 2005 always add cornstarch in almost all of her food. Her restaurant is a popular Chinese restaurant on the block. I always watched cooks add this into their food. So, I thought I could do it in afritada. When I first cooked afritada I added cornstarch and served it to my husband. He likes the sauce thick in afritada. Every time we go to a Filipino store, he complains why their afritada is so thin. I told him that it supposed to be thin. He was wondering why my afritada was delicious and more appealing when it's thick. I told him that I added what I learned in Taiwan. So, if you would like to try it, in a bowl pour 2 tbsp of cornstarch and a cup of water. Mix it and add it in your afritada. Turn off the heat.
Serve this delicious hot afritada with steamed rice. Note, just white rice no need to have fancy rice like Spanish rice or rice with beans. Just plain rice. By the way, I prefer Jasmine rice. You can buy it anywhere in any grocery store.
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| Do you know that you can also cook it with "beef"? The picture above is called "Beef Afritada." |
Good luck!
"I've learned that I still have a lot to learn."- Maya Angelou
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