Stew away

Caldereta is one of my all time faves, but cooking it is always a feat so my quest is to find the right recipe mix that can help me come close to making a spicy stew that I actually like, nevermind coming close to how Caldereta by my lolas and nanay Meding does it, I just want Caldereta the way Caldereta should be.

I've tried several recipe mixes, I have only been able to prepare those that are palatable enough to be consumed without throwing up, but nothing like the way I want it.

Because I look up to my lolas, our kusineras and kusineros and Nanay when it comes to home-cooked food, thought I'd give Mama Sita a try. As usual I defy by using pork instead of beef and adding liver spread and cheese which the instructions did not mention.

 

The beauty of cooking for yourself is you have perfect control of what goes into your food as opposed to dining out or relying on neighborhood carinderias. For one, I use a healthier cooking oil for sauteeing, and since I hate ingesting chunks of onions, i can grind them till they're pureed before putting them in the pan. Not that I added onions on this one, i'm happy to miss the part of slicing and osterizing them, it saves me tears.

I started off with browning a bit of garlic before pushing the pork for a dive. Seasoned the raw meat with Aromat and pepper and left it to fry in its own fat on low fire until it's brown.

 

As defiant as I am, i followed the " add 2 cups water instruction" and left it to boil for a few minutes before pouring the recipe mix. By the look of the sauce mix, my Caldereta presented some promise but I'll never know till it's over and done.

 

Waiting on meat to tenderize is always the best time to prepare other ingredients. The only thing I learned from my college laboratory course in Hotel and Restaurant Management is to practice mis en place where ingredients are organized as to measurement. Although, measuring spices and seasonings are not my bowl of soup, i just like be neat when the pot is on fire.

 

Caldereta is no Caldereta without bell peppers; potatoes, Baguio beans and hotdogs are my family's touch and what I have been used to. As much as they are extenders, I see it as balancing tools for  the dish, chewing on meat all the way is no fun. Add the fact that food should be pretty as they are palatable.

 

I like colors, it matters to me that food on my plate have layers of color. I put bell peppers on my dishes but I dont eat them, I opted to get green peppers for this dish instead of red to avoid the monotonous crimson. Colororizing your dish need not take much, throw in one potato, one bell pepper sliced diagonally, one piece of hotdog  and about 10 stalks of baguio beans cut in one inch stalks and you're good to go.

 

Quite possibly, once done with peeling and slicing, the meat a little bit more tender which means the potato can join the party. I can opt to fry it but economics implies maximixed use of cooking time.

 

When the potatoes are cooked, the meat is prolly tender, putting in the easy cook ingredients should be in order. Since i like it creamy and tasty, grating cheese over the pan is my way to go.

 

I like it hotter so sprinkling a bit of crushed chili wont hurt.

 

Now that everything is biteable, pitch the hotdogs and green peppers to cook a little bit with the sauce, extracting the spice to add flavor. Add the beans while still on low fire, veggies do not make dishes look good when it's soggy.

 

and here it is! Pork Caldereta ala Mama Sita with a midnigh chef twist.

 

It does taste like Caldereta, maybe a hint close to my lola's but  not quite yet.

I like the color though.

 

 

Could it be magic (Maggi Magic Meals trial)

Before the loooong weekend came to an end, i found myself rushing to the supermarket to grab stuff for my week's meals. Like any other curious shopper, I do the zigzag from one lane to another checking out things that are new and interesting to try.

This week's catch is the Maggi Magic Meals mix, having been brought up with a Bicolana cook, the Bicol Express was my instant choice. It also comes in Afritada (i think) and Chicken Pastel (which i'll try next time) and other selections I didn't get to. 

Maggi Magic Meals is a magical gift especially for those who always dare to multi-task and have a decent meal as the cooking procedure to be employed here is simply cut and mix ingredients together with the flavor powder, bag it up and cook  together with rice either by rice cooker or the age-old kaldero method.

The package which costs P35 contains a heat-resistant plastic and recipe mix powder good for 1/2 kilo of pork. While it may be formulated for pork meat, i differed by using chicken breast.

After dicing and throwing in slivers of Baguio beans in the bag, i threw in the recipe mix and added 1/4 cup of water.

 Because I don't always trust recipe books or any kind of cooking instructions, i seasoned my mix with pepper and a few pinches of crushed chili. I don't keep fresh peppers in my fridge as I end up spoiling them. Keeping crushed dried pepper or chili in oil are the best alternatives so that anytime you crave for something spicy hot, you got something to grab off the shelf.

When everything's in, seal up the bag by tying a knot. Give it a little airspace so as to  allow laying it flat atop the uncooked rice. What the package did not say was that the allowance you have to give should be just enough to accommodate the steam that the bag will produce. In my case, i sealed it up high, the steam lifted the lid, letting steam escape. 

Aside from the airspace, what needs to be considered is the amount of rice in the pot and the size of the pot. I have a significantly small rice cooker pot which is in no way Maggi's fault, but we all learn things the hard way sometimes. I had to rescue my rice from dehydration at one point by adding water to replace those that spilled over,  and transfer my Bicol Express bag  and leave it to cook in a pot of boiling water.

My rice is fine and so is my Magic Chicken Bicol Express. The finished product does taste like what it's supposed to be though I like it more with a little more coco milk. The gata texture is of course, not as superb, a little starchy. It turned out a little hotter than I expected from the chili flakes i put in,but suits my taste just fine. 

Upside:

Technically less work with no sauteeing required. There's no need to chop spices and if you're place is as tiny as mine, the smell of food hanging over your tiny room is not gonna be a trouble you have to sniff through.

Downside:
The coco milk sauce texture is starchy, has artificial written all over it