Beef Caldereta

As with most Filipino food, Caldereta originated in Spain. They have the same dish and almost all the ingredients are similar with the exception of Cinnamon stick, which is called for in the Spanish recipe. This dish can be made with beef, goat meat or even chicken. I prefer using beef for my version of Caldereta. Some recipes call for the use of vinegar as a marinade, along with salt, garlic and pepper. This is advisable if you are using a tough part of the beef as vinegar acts as a meat tenderizer.

Browning the beef as the first step of the cooking is very important. Do not use a non-stick pot or pan for this since you want the brown bits that stick to the bottom of the pan. These will add a lot of flavor to your Caldereta (or any kind of beef stew). Instead of tomato sauce, I prefer to use tomato paste (about 2-3 tbsp depending on how much water you add and how much sauce you want at the end) since I find that the resulting sauce has more depth and flavor. It is also important to let it simmer for a long time since this will allow all the flavors to meld and make the sauce thicker (you don't want a sauce that is watery).

The nice thing about Caldereta is you can omit some or most of the ingredients. As long as you have beef and tomato sauce, you'll still end up with a good dish. It's okay if you don't have liver sauce or olives or green peas. I for one do not add green peas, just because dh does not like it. If you like a Caldereta with a kick, add some chili pepper flakes or chili peppers.

This recipe is a combination of recipes from my mom, aunts and cook books. You can tweak this recipe to accomodate your taste

BEEF CALDERETA

2 lbs beef cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 3/4 cups water
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
additional 2 1/2 cups water
3 medium-sized potatoes, quartered
1 large carrot, chopped
1 red Bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup canned liver spread
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup whole olives (optional)
Chili pepper flakes (optional)

- Marinate the beef in soy sauce, garlic and pepper for at least 1 hour. Drain and reserve the marinade.
- Heat the oil in a large pot.
- Fry the beef cubes until brown in all sides. Set aside.
- Add the onion and saute until limp.
- Pour in the tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire sauce and reserved marinade.
- Bring to boil and then lower the heat to simmer until the beef cubes are tender (approximately 1 1/2 hours). Add more water if needed. You should end up with an oily and thick sauce just like what is shown in the photo at the right. Skim the fat off the sauce.
- Add potatoes and carrot, cook for 10 minutes.
- Add Bell pepper and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Add salt if needed.
-Serve over rice.

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