Chicken Caldereta

Filipino Chicken Caldereta 01Tomato-based stews are simply delicious that’s why it’s a regular in our family menu.

Caldereta is a Filipino-style stew in tomato sauce with meat and vegetables usually potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and green peas.

The original caldereta is made from goat meat but beef, pork, chicken, and even fish such as tuna can also be used.

For today’s post, I am going to share how I make chicken caldereta for my family using bone-in chicken cuts (they’re more flavorful compared to boneless chicken meat).

Caldereta dish is very similar to other tomato-based stews in Philippine cuisine, namely menudo, afritada, and mechado. The difference among them is in the types of cut in the meat and the addition of extra ingredients such as soy sauce in mechado or raisins and chorizo/hotdogs in menudo. Caldereta often has liver paste added to thicken the sauce and it’s usually spicy. I omit this ingredient so this chicken caldereta is like chicken afritada with the addition of green peas.

I’m a big fan of using Mama Sita’s pre-mixed seasoning for caldereta, but most of the time I  love cooking the dish from scratch. You can remove the chicken skin and trim off the fat from the meat if you like to make it healthier. But make sure you have plenty of boiled white rice to go with this dish. They’re a perfect tandem for a satisfying meal the Filipino way!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:
2 lbs bone-in chicken piecesFilipino Chicken Caldereta 02
1 medium potato
1 medium carrot
1 medium bell pepper
1 can (15oz) Hunt’s tomato sauce
1 can (15oz) sweet green peas
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Tools/Materials You’ll Need:
Knife
Cutting board
Can opener
Cooking pot
Cooking spoon

Procedure:
1. Wash and peel potato and cut into medium chunks.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 032. Do the same thing with the carrot.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 043. Wash and core bell pepper then slice into medium chunks.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 054. Peel onion and chop into small pieces. Similarly, peel garlic and mince.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 065. Heat a large cooking pot over medium high. Add the oil and saute onions and garlic until fragrant.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 076. Throw in chicken pieces and saute for about 2 minutes on both sides until slightly browned.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 087. Add water and season with salt and pepper. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and let it simmer for 45 minutes until meat is tender.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 09Filipino Chicken Caldereta 108. Add tomato sauce, carrots, and green peas and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 12 Filipino Chicken Caldereta 13 Filipino Chicken Caldereta 14Filipino Chicken Caldereta 159. Throw in the bell peppers last and cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly limp.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 16Filipino Chicken Caldereta 16a10. Remove from heat and serve immediately.Filipino Chicken Caldereta 17a

Chicken Caldereta
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Lunch, Dinner
Cuisine: Filipino
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • Ingredients:
  • 2 lbs bone-in chicken pieces
  • 1 medium potato
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 medium bell pepper
  • 1 can (15oz) Hunt's tomato sauce
  • 1 can (15oz) sweet green peas
  • ½ medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 4 cups water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
  1. Wash and peel potato and cut into medium chunks.
  2. Do the same thing with the carrot.
  3. Wash and core bell pepper then slice into medium chunks.
  4. Peel onion and chop into small pieces. Similarly, peel garlic and mince.
  5. Heat a large cooking pot over medium high. Add the oil and saute onions and garlic until fragrant.
  6. Throw in chicken pieces and saute for about 2 minutes on both sides until slightly browned.
  7. Add water and season with salt and pepper. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and let it simmer for 45 minutes until meat is tender.
  8. Add tomato sauce, carrots, and green peas and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
  9. Throw in the bell peppers last and cook for 2-3 minutes until slighly limp.
  10. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

 

 

2 Comments

  1. Claire November 14, 2016
    • Mia November 23, 2016