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I'm not well versed in my own heritage regarding Filipino food. I know the basics: lumpia, adobo, and pancit. This recipe for Caldereta is one I did not grow up on, but have had to discover on my own as an adult.
For those unfamiliar with Filipino dishes, there is a complexity of flavors in each dish. Filipino food is not spicy, but instead relies of the blending of salty, sour, sweet, and umami in rather unique combinations. Vinegar is used a lot to give a tang to the dish.
Another fact is that Filipinos love offal. They have no problem eating nose to tail including the oink. In this dish, there is a liver pate added in which definitely adds that liver taste, but this can be optional for those that don't care for it.
Use whatever vegetables and meat you like. The stew's background is to be made with goat meat, but you'll most often find it this days with beef. But you can use pork and even chicken if you choose.
Usually the stew is simmered for 2 hours to tenderize the beef. I started by tenderizing the beef first by cooking it sous vide, and then assembling the rest of the ingredients. The beef was wonderfully tender and the flavors didn't suffer from the difference in cooking methods.
Check out the Cyber Monday SousVide Supreme special:
Caldereta
1.5 pounds of stew beef cut into 1" cubes
1/2 cup of vinegar
6 whole peppercorns, crushed
3-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion, sliced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of hot sauce (Tabasco or Sriracha)
1 teaspoon sugar
3 Tablespoons oil
1 8 ounce can of peas
3 ounces liver spread/pate
Marinate the beef in the vinegar, peppercorns, and garlic for 2 hours. Drain.
Fill the SousVide Supreme with water and heat to 130F. While it's heating up, place marinated beef into a food pouch, vacuum and seal. Cook in the water bath for 3 hours. When done, remove from the water bath.
Heat a Tablespoon of oil in a skillet on medium high. Saute the onions until soft. Add the cooked beef to the skillet and add the tomato sauce, bay leaf, salt, sugar, and hot water. Bring to a simmer.
Add red and green peppers and hot sauce. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add liver pate and green peas. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve over rice.
