Afritada

The Filipino people have a long history, starting with their indigenous native people, then being conquered and colonized by the Chinese, the Moors, the Spaniards, and then the Americans in the earlier part of the 20th century.  Their culinary style reflects all of these influences, and the food is rich with history and various flavors.  The Philippines is an archipelago of about 7000 islands in the Southeastern China sea, and it sits right on the equator so unlike the cold and seasonal climate of most of Northern Asia, the Philippines is hot, humid, and is the home to some of the world's most prized tropical beaches and rain forests.  From dishes cooked with native coconut milk and seafood, to spicy curry style foods influenced by the Moors, and more importantly, the tomato and spice braised meats and stews based on the cooking methods of the Spaniards, there is something for every palate in the Filipino culinary repertoire.

Afritada, or apritada, is a dish that was influenced by the Spaniards, and perfected in the province region of Pampanga, where my Dad hails from.  It's a dish of braised meats and vegetables in a tomato based sauce, and it's rich and wonderful when served with rice.  The most popular way to make it in the Philippines is with pork, since it's more readily available than beef, but the version I made is with beef.


You'll need:

1.5 lbs of beef stew meat, trimmed of fat and cut into smaller, even, bite sized pieces, tossed with 2 tbsp. flour
7 carrots, trimmed and cut into large pieces (my family loves carrots.  I could put in 10 but 7 seemed fine)
4 large russet potatoes, peeled (or scrubbed) and diced
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 package of peas (I use organic baby peas)
1 can of crushed tomatoes (or you can use whole, just mash them down) + 1 can of water
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp. soy sauce
pinch of salt (to taste)
fresh cracked black pepper (to taste)
olive oil

Heat up a heavy dutch oven and add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.  Brown the beef in small batches, making sure to get a good sear on the meat.  Put the browned meat into a separate container and continue until all the batches are browned.  There should be enough oil in the dutch oven to sweat the aromatics, but if there isn't, add a tablespoon of olive oil and add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper.  Add a pinch of salt and cook until the onion starts to turn translucent and the garlic and bell pepper are fragrant.  Add the can of tomatoes and soy sauce and stir until the mixture starts to bubble.  Return the meat to the pot and add a can of water.

Quick Method:

Stir to combine, and when this comes to a bubble add the carrots and potatoes, and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.  Add the peas and garbanzo beans, and return to a simmer.  Continue simmering on low heat until the potatoes are fork tender.

Slow Method (my preferred way of doing it):

Stir to combine, and move the dutch oven to a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour.  After an hour has passed, add the carrots and potatoes and return to the oven for another hour.  Add the peas and garbanzo beans, and return to the oven for another 20 minutes.

Serve over hot rice (traditional), or warm, crusty bread.

Prep time:  30 minutes
Servings:  This batch was made to serve 8, but I'm sure there will be leftovers.