Chicken afritada, a colonial legacy
After three and a half centuries of Spanish colonization, it is not surprising that we find a lot of Mediterranean style stews in our cuisine. There are claims, however, that what we consider as Spanish-influenced dishes more closely resemble their counterparts in Mexican cuisine. Whether or not that is true is something I’ll leave to the historians. What I do know is that tomato-based stews abound in Filipino cuisine.
Afritada is one of those tomato sauce based stews that is generally believed to have been introduced in the Philippines by the Spaniards. It is not, however, the same as other tomato sauce based stews. Though similar in appearance, kaldereta’s sauce is thickened with mashed liver, mechado uses thick beef slices with a cube of fat inserted at the center, callos is served with olives and its sauce is sticky because of the ligaments from the beef pata, pochero is additionally served with green vegetables and is accompanied by a spicy egglant sauce (nowadays called eggplant caviar) and menudo has cubes of pork liver and is cooked with garbanzos (chick peas) and raisins.
This is my version of chicken afritada. Whether it is more Mexican than Spanish, I cannot say. Truth is, it might even be more akin to an Italian stew than anything else. The secret is in the slow cooking which results in a thick and rich sauce. If you happen to have a piece of ham bone then, by all means, throw it in for added flavor.
This recipe serves 6.
Ingredients:
6 tbsps. of olive oil (not extra virgin)
750 g. of chicken thighs
750 g. of chicken drumsticks
1 Spanish chorizo (about 150 grams), sliced into 1/4-inch rings
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onions, chopped
1 c. of red wine
3 c. of diced tomatoes
leaves from a sprig of oregano (or 1/2 tsp. of dried oregano)
300 g. of carrot, peeled and cut into wedges
300 g. of stewing potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
2 dried laurel leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. of sugar
Heat the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot. Add the chicken pieces, in batches if necessary, and cook until lightly browned. Add the chopped onions, minced garlic and laurel leaves, and cook, stirring, until the onion bits start to soften, about three minutes.
Pour in the red wine. Boil, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced to less than half.
Add the diced tomatoes and oregano. Stir. Season with salt, pepper and sugar.
Add the sliced chorizo, carrot and potato wedges. Stir.
Cover the pot tightly and simmer the stew for 40 to 50 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure no scorched crust forms at the bottom of the pot. If the liquid evaporates too fast, add broth or water, no more than half a cup at a time. Toward the end of cooking time, taste the sauce and add more salt, pepper or sugar if necessary.
Remove the laurel leaves after cooking.
For best results, allow the cooked stew to sit for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to infuse and fully develop. Reheat to serve.
Note: After cooking this dish last week, I set aside one portion, cooled it then put in the freezer. On Sunday, Sam brought that frozen portion back to the condo as one of of the four dinners (only four schooldays supposedly this week) she can reheat during the week. She brought it home yesterday though — classes suspended after two students tested positive for A(H1N1) virus.
Tagged: Asian, carrots, chorizo, Filipino, potatoes, School lunchbox, stew, tomatoes
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Hi Connie….this recipe looks so good. Will try it. where do you buy spanish chorizo? is it sold in a can or sealed plastic ? Thanks Thanks
This one’s cold. The brand is Swiss Deli if I remember correctly. Got it from the supermarket. But the lard coated canned or vacuum sealed chorizo are just as good.
Connie I just read that you said something about “lard coated canned” spanish chorizo, I’ve been looking for those and can’t find them where do you buy it? Please I must know and would really appreciate it
Oh and to answer your question, the dish you made is more “Spanish/ Spaniard” in preparation very Spaniard, you could feed this to a Spaniard
(I would know my grandmother is Spaniard, and my grandfather is Cuba/ Spain decent on my father’s side. And on my mother’s side my family is Mexican so I can also recognize Mexican stuff)
If you’d want to make it more Spanish use extra- virgin olive oil (it’s used for everything)adding a minced green or red bell pepper to sautee with the onions is also good but your way is good to.
If interested in Spanish style meat stews I have plenty on my blog to
P.S.
I gotta try your recipe sometime
Re canned chorizo. I find them in the canned meat section of Shopwise. They even come in very large cans — as large as the largest can of fruit juice.
Thanks a lot Connie.
this is some afritada with the red wine in the sauce. looks yummy to me. i have been trying a lot of your recipes lately ms. connie and they are sure hits. i am actually munching on your self frosting nutella cupcakes right now, i baked it with my 3 year old daughter and as soon as it comes out of the oven, she said wow…looks so yummy mommy. hehehe.. ang kawawang bata hindi makapaghintay lumamig yung cupcakes.lol. we also tried your perfect custard cake & it looks just divine, i’m gaining a lot of pounds already(oh dear diet na lang tomorrow). I can’t wait to try your zebra or rainbow cake. thanks for the easy to prepare recipes and baked goods ms cons. =)
The self-frosting cupcakes can be made other other brands of choco-nut spreads. Goya is much less expensive than Nutella but, as frosting, just as good.
I like old styles of cooking, with interplay of flavors and slow cooking. Will surely try this with my Sunshines
hey – 3.5 decades? wasn’t it more like 3.5 centuries
?
sorry! i thought it first said decades…!
Did you mean three centuries of Spanish colonization?
I love your blogs!!!
The front page today said three decades ;(
Yes, centuries. Forgot to edit the custom field for the front page.
I used to watch my grandma cook this dish a long time ago and she crushes a couple of butter crackers (”Fita”) and add this to the stew the last minute. Makes the broth thicker and richer. To this day, when i cook afritada, i would crush a couple of Ritz crackers and do the same.
Wow, I like that idea. See, I hate adding flour to stew sauce. But biscuit (or even bread) crumbs sound good.
My nanay does something similar- lots of crushed biscocho or old bread to thicken the sauce and she adds red bell peppers for taste. The sauce is NOT tomato or wine based so it’s a pale afritada. I don’t know if that’s still considered afritada but that’s what she calls it- afritada. She also does the traditional tomato-based chicken afritada.
connie, i don’t work well with red wine. ma-pait lagi. i dry it out naman but still it isn’t that graet. can you give me tips on how i can improve it?
Caren, stay away from dry wines. Use the fruity sweeter varieties.
Ah yeah, you may be right. Any specific brand you wana suggest?
I’m not brand conscious when it comes to cooking wines (for drinking, I am VERY brand conscious hehehe) but I suggest Italian, Spanish and Portuguese wines for cooking.
Great! Thanks a lot, Connie!
hi ms. connie. pls help! do you know any processed meat products that are made from pure beef? and where to buy if any. i want to use it sana to add smoky flavor whenever i cook something like your afritada for my husband. kaso i am married to a muslim! obviously, i can’t use anything with pork! hehe. thanks!
Try the corned beef (whole beef slabs) from Earle’s.
ok thanks a lot! san po earle’s?hehe.
There used to be an outlet at Shopwise Libis. Not sure though if it’s still there. But the company is alive.
great.might check that out! thanks! baka meron sila sa shopwise cubao. thanks ms connie!
Hi Ms. Connie,
Made this recipe and alas i had no red wine (but had already started!) Substituted apple juice with a bit of balsamic vinegar to add some tang. It turned out great! I wish i knew the exact proportions but i was too tamad to measure. I think it was around 1/8c balsamic to 1 cup apple juice. Just wanted to share. =)
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
Lala
Wow, I like your substitution. I love balsamic vinegar!
i want to see this food it is very good for me and i would like to cook this food,to fine a good test in this kind of food.
Hey Connie,
I’ve been noticing that some of your recipes ask for olive oil, but you say not to use extra virgin. May I ask what’s the difference? And how will it affect the taste/final result of the dish?
I use extra virgin when no cooking is required. Like in pesto. Otherwise, it’s just olive oil. I find extra virgin too strong for cooking.