Popular Filipino Stews

By: Aeron Lancero

 

Magandang araw sa inyo lahat. And hope you are enjoying the last days of the summer temperature we are still having and getting ready for the upcoming fall weather coming soon. Don’t you love fall… It is my favorite weather as it seems like you’re in an air-conditioned type temperature. Fashion is definitely something I enjoy during this time but the biggest thing is the comfort food that our culture has to offer. Many non-FilAms usually think about us for our food to be lighter since our country sits in the Pacific, but contrary to the great fruits, vegetables, seafood that grill, sauté, etc… We are not well-recognized enough for our stews and soups that most FilAms enjoy every day. Soups and stews are usually known as comfort food and dishes that take time, which results to how Pinoys show their love of food. That said, here are a few stews that I will be talking about, most people, FilAms and non-FilAms, do enjoy. Some think it’s too exotic even to a point where one of our stews was listed as a bizarre food from well-known T.V. personality, Andrew Zimmerman.

The most common stews that we see at every Pinoy menu…First is the kare-kare (the popular oxtail in a peanut heavy sauce). Many FilAms love this dish, and would also love to see this more in the mainstream market and it has, but not always with oxtail, and the reasons are that the best way served is with the oxtail still on its bone with the occasional tripe (stomach lining) and an array of vegetables served with a side of rice and our favorite, bagoong (fermented shrimp turned into a paste) that saltiness cuts the savoryness of the peanut gravy. For non FilAms, they stay away from this because of the smell. Why mainstream does more with brisket or even seafood, which is the popular accompaniment, is because the ability to eat this; either kamayan or with the spoon and fork, which is how we Pinoys and FilAms are taught.

The next stew is Kaldereta with almost any protein but the favorite is baka (beef) or kambing (goat), tomato sauce, heavy with green peppers, onions and liver spread, but back in the days, chicken liver puree is what was used. Tomatoes were slowly cooked with dish to create that gravy, but the chicken liver pureed is what made the stew nice and hearty. This was a dish that took hours and discipline to stir so that it did not ever burn, nowadays, there are instant packets or some use the tomato sauce with canned liver spread. Regardless, this is my personal favorite dish because of the distinctive spice and how the meat was very tender, falling apart because it was cooked (braised) for so long. Also served with rice and a dish that fill you up great, especially after a long day of work. There are a level of spice depending on what region’s style of cooking the kaldareta is coming from.

The most common stew, and depending who you asked, is categorized as a stew but these days not sure how it’s classified because it is so main stream and there are many techniques that are leveraged to prepare this dish. That is the popular adobo chicken or pork. Frankly, you can cook adobo with any protein and vegetable. The fundamental components are garlic, onion, vinegar and salt (now more people use soy sauce), although in the olden days, it was all just the four components. There are also many variations in regards to how this is prepared, although back in the day most regions cooked this as a stew (braised which is cooked slowly so that the fat of the meat is the one that makes that glaze on the meat. The meat is also very tendor which falls off the bone. This is a mainstream dish and there also competitions that occur in regards to this dish, which one is coming up soon. Don’t forget Adobofest, and I believe this year is going to be better than ever as the founder, Edgar from FAN, has recruited young, energetic and passionate FilAms to assist getting more people to participate and engage with this event. Filipino Kitchen… Come out and support.

The last stew is my all-time favorite, but considered as a bizarre food or very exotic and somewhat taboo. It is definitely a dish that no matter what, you cannot make it visually appealing although the flavor, texture and technique on how to prepare this dish, for me anyway, is outstanding. Actually a well-known restaurant in Chicago amongst Pinoys and is now a restaurant recognized all over the states is the team from Isla and they had the opportunity to be on Andrew Zimmerman’s show Bizzare Foods in America and showcase this dish.

The dish is called Dinuguan (chocolate meat) pork blood stew. This is traditionally a snack or a chaser for Pinoys. If it is served as a snack, it is served with the steamed rice cake named “puto,” the nice version, and not the Spanish profanity that is more known out there. The texture is nice and thick, there are different levels of spices but really on the salty and savory side. The actual meat is the stomach lining and some actual pork meat as well. It is nice and dark, as when cooking blood, no matter what animal, it turns to brown all the way to black.

The chocolate meat reference comes from, I believe, the chefs when they see it and no, it’s not mole sauce. I am being honest that it’s not an attractive dish and once you get past the visual and place it on rice, it tastes and texturely feels like shredded meat with a gravy or thick sauce. And, in my opinion, is delicious.

These four stews you can get at almost any of those Pinoy fast-food casual places, that have their food on steam tables and most are with sauce or stews as they hold well in that format. But having it when its freshly made the right way, is definitely a treat. As you also can see is that our food is getting more and more note-writery. That said bring your non-FilAm friends, family and acquaintances and showcase these dishes. You may have them be more receptive than you think, and if they need a little more convincing, let them know that chef personalities, like Andrew Zimmerman and Anthony Bourdain, have tried and enjoyed these dishes.

I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to sharing more next month. Till then, enjoy the weather, your family, friends and our food.

Maraming salamat! Till next month…

A very meaningful quote: Genuine Virtue consists of being charitable, loving one’s fellow men and being judicious in behavior, speech and deed. –Emilio Jacinto

Kare Kare

Kaldereta

Adobo

Dinuguan