Afritada is a Filipino tomato based stew. I believe this is one of the many Spanish influenced dishes that we have. It is meat (pork and chicken are commonly used) braised in tomatoes, onions, garlic with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Tomato paste is then added with broth or water. Lola (my maternal grandmother) does not like to use tomato sauce as she finds it too sour. Bay leaf, salt and pepper are used to season. My family always include vinegar in our “afritada” recipe, I remember my mom and lola saying that this is what makes it different from “Menudo“.

Each family in the Philippines usually have their own recipe or way of making this dish. My recipe may differ from others but this is what makes Filipino cooking interesting.

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The trinity of Filipino cooking – garlic, onions and tomatoes. The rest of the ingredients I used are potatoes, carrots and red bell pepper.

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Meat of choice, you may use chicken or beef.

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Pork Afritada

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Dinner is served, pork afritada over rice.

P.S.

This is an updated version of this recipe. I added some Spanish chorizo after placing the carrots and potatoes in the simmering stew to give the dish added flavor.

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