Dinner DeeAs recipe: Jersey-Style Filipino Beef Caldereta

Kyla Fields is food critic and former managing editor of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, and she recently shared her Mom's take on a classic comfort food stew from the Philippines called Caldereta. We asked her to come and make it in the Dinner DeeAs kitchen and see why it's a dish Ky still makes at least once a month.

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Jersey-Style Filipino Beef Caldereta

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb beef, cut into 1 ½ inch chunks (can use chuck, top round, brisket)
• neutral oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 ½ cups water
• 1 cup passata
• 1 cup carrots, cut into 1 ½ inch chunks
• 1 ½ cups potatoes, cut into 1 ½ inch chunks
• 1 cup bell pepper, cut into 1 ½ inch chunks
• 1 cup pitted Castelvetrano olives
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper
• oregano
• 2 tbsp liver paste (optional)

Directions

1. Heat a dutch oven or pot to medium-high heat and add about a tablespoon of neutral oil.
2. Sear chunks of beef on both sides until browned, about 3–5 minutes.
3. Remove beef and set aside. Deglaze pot with a splash of water before adding onions, garlic and bay leaves—sauté for three minutes.
4. Add water, passata and beef back into the dutch oven, and bring to a boil. Let it rip for 30 minutes before adding carrots, potatoes, bell peppers and olives.
5. Add salt, pepper, liver spread (if needed) and oregano, and simmer for one hour, or until beef is tender and liquid is reduced by at least half.
6. Serve over a piping hot bowl of fried garlic rice (see recipe below). Serves 3–4 people.

Kyla's Tips

Be sure not to oversalt the stew in the beginning, as it will become saltier and more flavorful as it reduces.

For a little more flavor, use half beef broth and half water. For even more flavor, sear beef in tallow instead of oil.

Patting beef dry with a paper towel will deliver a better sear.

More traditional variations of Filipino Caldereta call for goat instead of beef, and some versions call for the addition of cheddar cheese or even peanut butter to help thicken the stew.

Fried Garlic Rice

Ingredients

• 2 cups jasmine rice
• water
• ¼ cup garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp neutral oil (grapeseed, canola, vegetable, avocado)

Directions

1. Cook jasmine rice according to package directions. Let cool.
2. Heat oil to 300° F. Add garlic to oil, constantly stirring until light brown, roughly 3–5 minutes.
3. Add cooled rice to garlic and oil. Mix together until well combined.

Kyla's Tips

Remove garlic a shade lighter than golden brown, it will continue to darken as it cools down.

To plate: place rice in bowl and ladle stew on the side.

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