Caldereta

Caldereta is one of my favorite comfort foods. Traditionally, it is a Filipino beef stew with tomatoes. This is a dish you will often see at turo-turo places – otherwise known as point-point joints. At the point-point joint, you point at the steam tray that looks best to you. More accurately, the steam tray that looks least repulsive. They stir up the lukewarm mixture, breaking up the grease on top, and slop it into a Styrofoam container with a heap of rice. (Can you tell I’m not a big fan of the steam tray places?)

Let’s just say there’s a turo-turo place in the city I used to live in that continually seemed to get shut down by the health department. And that was the “okay” place. *shudder*

That said, it makes sense to make your caldereta from scratch because it is fantastic when it’s homemade. I’m not going to make any serious claims toward authenticity here. I add a bit of tamarind in the beginning for sourness, and a can of good whole tomatoes instead of some fresh ones. Oftentimes you find green beans in caldereta, but instead I add potatoes (you can’t go wrong with meat and potatoes) and stir fry crisp green beans as a side dish. As I’m frying the onions in the beginning, I also throw in a big pinch of red pepper flakes to add a little heat.

I use beef chuck for this, and instead of cutting it into cubes, I leave the pieces large (easier when you are browning it) and slow cook it long enough for the meat to fall apart. Also a secret addition: if you have a piece of bone-in oxtail, add it. It gives great flavor. And by the way, this is great in a slow cooker: a winter dinner that’s ready as soon as you get home from work. What can be better?

Caldereta
Serves 4-6 with steamed rice
UPDATE: Thanks to Allan’s comment below, I’ve added liver pate as an optional ingredient, and adjusted the tamarind paste also as an optional ingredient (as it’s not really traditionally used). Many Filipino cooks use liver pate as a thickener in this dish. I prefer it without, but feel free to try it!

Ingredients
Vegetable oil
2 pounds (1 kg) boneless beef chuck
1 medium piece of oxtail (optional)
1 15-oz (500g) can of whole tomatoes
1-1/2 cups water
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch knob of ginger, grated or minced
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (use a tablespoon balsamic vinegar if you don’t have tamarind) (optional)
3 tablespoons liver pate (optional)
½ pound cubed, peeled red potatoes
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
A small handful of cilantro, minced for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 250 F (120 C). (If you are using a slow cooker, do everything up until step 5, then add the ingredients to the slow cooker.)
2. Rinse and dry the beef and oxtail, if using. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
3. In a large Dutch oven, heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil over high heat. Brown the meat on all sides, doing this in batches to avoid crowding. Set it aside.
4. In the same Dutch oven, add a little bit more oil, and fry the onions over medium-low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tamarind, garlic, ginger and red pepper and stir for another minute. Dice the tomatoes (or, if they’re soft enough, shred them with your hands over the pot), and add them with the juice, and the liver pate, if using. Add the water, salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer.
5. Add the meat and cover. Put the Dutch oven in the oven and cook for 3-4 hours, checking it to make sure there’s enough liquid every now and then. After about 3 hours, add the potatoes and continue baking for another hour. The meat should come apart easily with a fork.
6. Serve with rice. This tastes great the next day.