Afritada is another one of those tomato sauce based stews that was introduced in the Philippines by the Spaniards. It is not, however, the same as other tomato sauce based stews. Though similar in appearance, kaldereta‘s sauce is thickened with mashed liver, mechado uses thick beef slices with a cube of fat inserted at the center, callos is served with olives and its sauce is sticky because of the ligaments from the beef pata, pochero is additionally served with green vegetables and is accompanied by a spicy egglant sauce and menudo has cubes of pork liver and is cooked with guisantes (chick peas) and raisins.
This was our dinner last Monday. I always thought I already had an afritada recipe in this blog. We have it so often because it is one of my 10-year-old daughter’s favorites (she loves anything with tomato sauce). So, I was really surprised when a reader commented that he couldn’t find a recipe of afritada. I checked the database and… what do you know? It really wasn’t there. ;-P
So, here is my recipe for afritada. When I’m not feeling too lazy, I’ll cook mechado (inserting the fat into the meat is a lot of work) and cocido and complete my collection of recipes for tomato sauce based stews in my blog.
Ingredients :
750 g. of pork liempo (belly)
*You may also use the shoulder or rump
250 g. of stewing potatoes
2 carrots
2 red or green bell peppers
3-4 tomatoes
3/4 c. of frozen sweet peas, thawed
3/4 c. of tomato paste
2 c. of meat broth or water
6 tbsps. of olive oil
1 whole garlic
2 large onions
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. of dried basil
1/2 tsp. of dried oregano
1/2 tsp. of dried rosemary
*Note: double the amount if using fresh basil, oregano and rosemary
Cooking procedure :
Cut the pork into 2 x 2 inch cubes.
Peel and finely mince the garlic. Coarsely chop the tomatoes.
Heat the olive oil in a thick-bottomed casserole. When hot, add the pork cubes and cook over high heat until the edges start to brown. The pork will initially expel water. Just keep the heat up until the mixture dries up and the pork starts to render fat. Then cook the pork in the mixture of fat and oil until the edges start to brown. At this point, you can pour off the fat.
Add the garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves and tomato paste to the pork and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the meat broth and water, stir, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the vegetables. Peel the carrots and potatoes and cut into wedges. Peel the onions and cut into chunks. Core and seed the bell peppers and dice.
Add the vegetables to the stew. Stir well. Add the basil, oregano and rosemary. Cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until the meat and vegetables are done. Add more broth or water if necessary. Add only about half a cup each time to avoid thinning the sauce. Adjust the seasonings. Finally, add the sweet peas and simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Let stand for 10 minutes to infuse the flavors.
Serve hot.
I have been using pre mixes before but I soon find out that on line recipes are better and can be modified to suit your taste. Thank you guys for sharing your experiences.
Boy V.
thanx for the recipe. yumm:grin:
thank you for the recipe my tita and lola loves my afritada
lexy
i’ve been cooking afritada the way my mom taught me. never deviated from it because delish as it is. the only thing that your recipe differs from hers is the rosemary and other herbs. i’ll try this tonight and will let you know how it fared to my husband!
regards!
hi, is there an afritada without tomato sauce using just plain tomatoes? is it still called afritada?
crushed tomatoes = fresh tomato sauce. what’s the question again?
hello there, this site is great.
drop by to ask if i can combine cream of mushroom soup and the regular cream in a pork tenderloin dish. Better yet, does anyone knows a dish that has tenderlin, cream of mushroom and nestle cream on it? Please do email me if you have an answer! Thank You!
wow.i love my mom’s afritada so much when i was young but i forgot how to make one. and now that i am married i will make afritada for my korean husband ^^…so i will use this recipe..thank you soooooooooooo much.
this is my first time to cook with my own ways
so its better to look for a copy thank you
I’m making one right now. So far so good. Yummmm!!!
Haay, there goes my diet down the drain. Oh well!
Thanks for the recipe.
Cathy
i just made one today using all the recipe except i used chicken, and did not have basil. it’s still great! thanks
crushed tomatoes = fresh tomato with juice
its not a sauce
“crushed tomatoes = fresh tomato with juice”
Your name is so apt, Tangengot. Apparently you define tomato sauce by de lata standards.
hi connie happy new year puede ko ba palitan ng beef ang pork? thanks
Why not, Thet?
Wow! I did it.. It was perfectly done.. I really appreciate this, now I know how to cook Afritada alone without anyone else’s help.. Thank you
Does it taste like an afritada even without bay leaf? I tried to cook and follow your steps, but it ended up….ahh..never mind. Anyway, Ididn’t use bay leaf.
Why, what does afritada taste like? There are thousands of afritada recipes and they all taste differently — either in subtle ways or otherwise.
hi te connie.. hehe! ill call u “ate” its me again.. the one who tried your embutido recipe. but i used 4lbs. of pork on my bday party..
anyways,i am cooking this recipe right now for dinner.. so good.. so far! your site .. is such a great help.. specially a wifey like me! who knows nothing when it comes to cooking..
mam connie ano pong masubstitute ko for tomato paste,wala po kasi ko makita dito sa uk non.marami po dito tomato puree,pwede na po ba yun?thanks!
Stewed whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, fresh tomatoes…
Thanks to this article.. Hoping that you will add more procedures on how to cook another recipes.. looking forward on this article.. BOOKMARKED!! ^_^
you are always a life saver ms Connie! since it is rainy today, i tried cooking this recipe again
another way to warm the tummies of my toddler and hubby
Oh, yes, stews and soups are just perfect for rainy days.
I want my apitada without any other herbs than bay leaves. And a simple garlic , onion & tomato stir-fry.