Caldereta is a popular meat dish in the Philippines originally made from goat’s meat simmered in water and tomato sauce, with potatoes, carrots, bell peppers and green peas. Although the original recipe calls for chevon or mutton, you can easily substitute beef, pork or chicken. Also, many people add liver paste to the stew for a richer flavor.
My version of beef caldereta doesn’t include liver paste and uses beef or chicken broth instead of water for simmering the meat. This is my family’s favorite as well as some of my husband’s friends who tried it. The meat is very tender and the vegetables just cooked right and packed with delicious flavor, you will make this over and over again.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes
Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients:
2 lbs beef brisket
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium green bell pepper
3 medium potatoes
2 medium carrots
4 cups beef broth or chicken broth (canned or homemade)
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp vegetable oil for sautéing
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1 can green peas, drained (15 oz)
Tools You’ll Need:
Knife
Cutting board
Vegetable peeler
Can opener
Prep bowls
Large cooking pot
Cooking spoon
Procedure:
1. Cut beef into chunks.
2. Slice onions and mince garlic.
3. Place pot on the stove and turn heat on high. Add oil and sauté garlic and onions for about 4 minutes or until onions become translucent.
4. Add beef chunks, season with a dash of salt and pepper, and sauté until browned.
5. Pour 4 cups of broth into the pot. Bring to a boil then lower heat to medium low and simmer beef for an hour. Remove scum that rises to the top while simmering.
6. Meanwhile, prep the vegetables.
Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. I do this by cutting potatoes into quarters then slicing across. It should look like this.
Peel carrots and cut into cubes. Place in a bowl of water with potatoes (do this to prevent potatoes from turning black if you prepare veggies ahead of time, unless skip when you’re ready to put them right away into the pot.)
Slice bell peppers and remove the seeds, then cut into cubes. Set aside.
7. After an hour has passed, check if beef is tender. You should be able to cut it easily with a knife or pierce with a fork.
8. Add potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and tomato sauce. Simmer for another 30 minutes or so until the potatoes and carrots are cooked. Don’t forget to stir once in a while.
9. Throw in drained peas last and cook for another 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
10. Serve as it is or with hot steamed white rice. Yum!
