FILIPINO BEEF STEW
served during celebrations, parties, and festivities...
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Serves 4 | Level of Difficulty: Medium
This recipe is called Beef Caldereta or Kalderetang Baka which is a beef stew from the Philippines, brought by the Spanish people during their 300-year occupation in the country. The word "caldereta" is derived from the Spanish word "caldera", which means "cauldron", a large cast iron pot for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a large pot and frequently with arc-shaped hanger. There are many variations of this recipe commonly, it is meat sauce and liver paste. But for this recipe, I am going to be omitting liver paste, so this is still perfect for people who do not eat pork.
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Ingredients:
- 1/2 kilograms Beef Cubes
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 pieces Red Onion
- 1 piece Carrot
- 2 pieces Potato
- 1 piece Red Bell Pepper
- 70 grams Tomato Paste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Peanut Butter
- 2 pieces Finger Chilies
- 1 tablespoon Pickle Relish
- 3 tablespoons Green Peas
- 1 tablespoon Rock Salt
- 1 tablespoon Fish Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 3 liters Water
- 2 tablespoons Canola Oil
Steps:
1. Boil the beef until tender.
How I do it:
I use a manual pressure cooker to tenderize the beef. I put enough water in it; the water level should be an inch above the meat. Then I seal it securely, making sure that the lid is locked. I turn on the stove and bring it to boil and time it for 30 minutes after it starts to whistle. After 30 minutes, I turn off the stove but I do not open the lid yet, remember there is very high pressure inside this pot, and can cause an accident if you do so. I let all the steam be released through the vent pipe located on top of the lid. If there's no more steam (after at least 15 minutes), I then open the lid.
DISCLAIMER: If you are going to use a pressure cooker, make sure to read and follow the instruction manual of your cookware.
Other ways to do it:
Place water inside a pot about 2 inches above the meat. Put on the stove on high heat. Boil it for 15 minutes. Then lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours until soft and tender. Check it always to make sure that there's still enough water for simmering. You can add more water if needed.
Set aside the broth, which will be used later.
While boiling the beef cubes: Wash all the vegetables. Peel and chop the garlic. Peel and slice the red onion. Peel the carrots and potatoes then cut them into 1-inch wedges or cubes. Soak the potatoes in water to prevent them from turning brown in color. Cut off the stem of the red bell pepper, remove the seeds, and slice it into pieces.
3. Cook the Caldereta
In a large pan over medium heat, sauté the garlic and red onion in canola oil for about 2-3 minutes. Add the boiled beef cubes, season with salt & pepper, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, pickle relish, and around 5 ladles of beef broth; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes, red bell pepper, finger chilies, and 5 more ladles of beef broth; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Mix in the tomato paste and peanut butter, until fully diluted, followed by the green peas and fish sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer with occasional stirring for 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens to your preferred consistency. Adjust with salt and pepper according to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve with hot steamed rice.
4. Plating - Serve with hot steamed rice.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 477k | Protein: 30.93g | Fat: 19.15g | Carbs: 47.54g
