Chicken Afritada

It remains a puzzle to me that this Filipino dish is called "afritada" because the Spanish word "fritada" means "fried," and this dish is not fried at all, but rather sauteed/stewed. As the founder of the Culinary Historians of the Philippines (CHOP in Manila), I need to do some research on this. Stewing or braising in a tomato-based sauce is widely common back home, and different kinds of meats are cooked this way -- among others, Pork Menudo (small cubes of pork mixed in with cubes of pork liver); Beef Mechado (where the beef is "larded," or a piece of beef fat is inserted inside the beef chunks, for flavor enhancement); Beef Kaldereta (chunks of beef, with the sauce thickened with liver pate); Beef Pochero (with a more soupy rather than saucy liquid, often served with leafy vegetables and saging

na saba, a local variety of banana, which adds a sweetness to the liquid); and Callos (beef leg (pata) and tripe; the ligaments from the leg turns the sauce wonderfully thick and so flavorful from the long cooking--see my Mom's Callos recipe in this blog). Chicken is also made into menudo, mechado, or kaldereta. [Note:  I forgot to put green peas in this dish!]

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons canola oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 red onion, diced

2 pounds chicken, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup tomato sauce

1 bay leaf

2 cups chicken broth

5 small to medium potatoes, peeled and halved

10-12 pitted green olives, sliced in half

1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 cup green peas

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed casserole over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and sauté until golden in color; add the onions and stir until softened and caramelized.

Add the chicken and patis and stir until the chicken pieces are slightly browned. Stir in the tomato paste and sauté for 1 minute.

Stir in the tomato sauce, bay leaf and broth and bring to a boil; reduce the heat, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked and the sauce has thickened a little bit.

Add potatoes and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Add the olives, green and red bell peppers, and green peas; simmer for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf. Serves 6.