Chicken Afritada Recipe

Chicken Afritada is a Filipino tomato-based stew dish that is mixed with potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, and green peas. It is commonly made on special occasions which are best served with white rice.

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• Afritada vs Calderata vs Menudo?
• Recipe Ingredient
• Step by Step Instruction
• Recipe Faqs
• Recommended Filipino Recipes to Try
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While living in the Philippines, I have eaten many kinds of tomato-based sauce dishes that are delicious. The first time I tried this dish was in a Filipino carinderias- a small eatery place for local residents, which is a common dish they serve in their store. Also, this dish is made during an important event like Christmas, Fiesta or Family gathering.

I love tomato-based stew dish, and this is one local dish that I enjoyed eating it. It has full of vegetables which makes it healthier and nutritious. Also, the bell pepper adds a nice aroma to the stew. With this recipe, you don't even need to marinate or serve other side dishes, except rice, since it has everything we need.

In my experience, if you tried afritada, you will know that they are different than Menudo and caldereta, which are all tomato sauce-based dishes.

Afritada vs Calderata vs Menudo?

To me, it is even confusing to tell the difference since they all use similar ingredients. For example, they all use potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and tomato paste/ sauce in their dishes.

Thankfully, my Uncle from the Philippines, who is an expert in cooking, managed to explain everything. And here is what makes it different from afritada:

Calderata: Their sauce is a bit thicker since they use liver spread and/ or shredded cheese. And it more common to use pork, goat or beef than chicken as their protein.

Menudo: This is a stew dish which is similar to Afritada. However, what make's it different is that pork meat and pork liver are more common than chicken. Also, some likes to add garbanzo beans and raisin in this recipe.

Now you know the differences, I am sure this ease your confusion about how to make a Chicken Afritada recipe.

Recipe Ingredient

Here are the important ingredients that I use to make my Chicken Afritada Recipe:

MEATS: I am using chicken drumsticks since I like meat with bones and they are moister than the breast.

VEGETABLES: The vegetables I use include Bell pepper, green peas, potatoes, and carrots.

CONDIMENT: To add a nice flavor to the stew, I add fish sauce and chicken bouillon cube. This will make the afritada flavorful and tastier. The bouillon cube or stock cube is found in any grocery store. Also, if you don't like fish sauce, you can instead switch to soy sauce.

SAUCE: To make the stewed red, I add tomato sauce and tomato paste. If you prefer to use either one of them, that is fine.

Step by Step Instruction

In some recipes, when they cook Chicken Afritada, they marinate it first with soy sauce. But, to me, I just skip that part.

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Firstly, I saute the potatoes, carrots, and bell pepper in a separate pan. I just half cook them since the rest will be done through simmering in the pot. In the same pan, I browned the chicken on both sides before I transfer all of them into a plate. And then I set aside.

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Now in a separate cooking pot, I add garlic & onion and the browned chicken. I add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, fish sauce, and bouillon cubes. Let it boil or simmer for 25 minutes.

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Lastly, I added the half-cooked potatoes, carrots, and green peas to let simmer for 10 minutes or less. And then I add the bell pepper. The bell pepper should be the last to be added since they cooked faster. Once done, serve with white rice.

Recipe Faqs

Recommended Filipino Recipes to Try

If you love this dish, here are other delicious Filipino food recipes with chicken as my ingredient:

• Chicken Adobo with Potatoes
• Beef Bistek Tagalog
• Filipino Chop Suey