Hello!
I’ve been sorting out files in my computer and found this blog post which I wrote during the pandemic. During that time, I really had no idea how to publish blogs online. (Actually, until now. haha!) But I am transferring them here because why not? *wink*
Caldereta is a goat meat stew which my mother always cooks during the holidays in the Philippines. We may have learned about this dish from our Spanish ancestors and made some variations depending on what available ingredients we have in the country. Variations of this dish use beef, pork, or chicken.
We usually cook this dish on holidays since it takes sooooooooooo much time to prepare (Uhm. It starts from killing the goat— not kidding!). So again, cooking this dish really has to be on a holiday (or during pandemics like this when you just want to cook something festive and party in your head.)
Moving on, we must first cook adobo. Adobo is the most popular Filipino dish (very easy to prepare and can be done with your eyes closed).
Adobo Ingredients:
meat of your choice- 1/4 kg (or more for meat lovers)
soy sauce- 1/2 cup (I prefer a light type of soy sauce.)
vinegar- 1/2 cup
black pepper- (I like my adobo smokey hot, so I use a lot.)
garlic- 4 to 5 cloves (crushed)
Procedure:
- Put all ingredients in a pot and allow them to boil. (NOTE: Do not put the lid on while you can still smell the vinegar. If the acids are trapped inside the pot, the meat may not tenderize.)
- When the acid smell is gone, put the lid on to allow the meat to absorb all the flavors. Turn the heat down and allow it to cook slowly. This takes about an hour. Sugar may be added towards the end. For best results, cook your adobo the night before.
After which, set your adobo aside to prepare the Caldereta. The goal is to be able to make a rich creamy sauce by mixing the adobo sauce with just the right amount of tomato paste, liver spread and cheese.
Caldereta Ingredients:
potatoes- 3 pcs (cut into chunks)
carrot- 1 pc (cut into chunks)
onion- 1 pc (cut into chunks)
bell peppers– doesn’t matter if it’s red, yellow or green (chunks)
tomato paste/tomato sauce– if you like the sauce thick, use tomato paste. If not, use tomato sauce
liver spread– this is the secret to the “secret sauce” (Reno brand is the best. Fight me!)
cream cheese– Cheddar is OK. But I prefer cream cheese.
olive oil– for frying the veggies (You may use any cooking oil.)
Procedure:
- With a little bit of cooking oil, fry/toast your potatoes, carrots, onion and bell pepper chunks. Set them aside after. (You may skip this process but toasted vegetables add richness to the flavor. *wink*)
- Add tomato paste/sauce, liver spread and cheese to your adobo sauce. (For beginners, I use half a can of tomato sauce, two sachets of tomato paste and three blocks of cream cheese. But you can adjust the ratio to your preferred taste and/or consistency.)
- Mix the toasted veggies in and it’s ready to be served!
If you like it with more sauce, simply double the adobo sauce, liver spread, cheese, tomato sauce and paste.
Enjoy!
Asian Santa
Written: May 12, 2020
Edited: December 23, 2024
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