Pochero is a flexible dish, typically made with meat which is cooked in tomato sauce with bok choy or pechay. The special ingredient in Pochero is typically saba, giving it a sweet, banana flavor, especially if the saba is browned first before adding.

Garbanzo beans are also a common ingredient, but contemporary cooks in homes across the country also use another special ingredient: pork and beans! It magnifies the sweet and savory flavor of Pochero while adding volume to each spoonful you eat.

Pochero does not normally get confused with other kamatis-based stews (Kaldereta, Afritada, Mechado, and Menudo). Probably because it is one of the few tomato stews that use saba, or other kinds of bananas or plantains, as well as bok choy or pechay. Though it is also common with potatoes, and sometimes bell peppers and carrots.

Bisaya Pochero uses beef, saba, corn, tanglad, and no tomato sauce, making it a delicious and savory tangy soup without the sour and red of tomato.

Whichever Pochero you make, it is packed with vegetables, and the meat can be substituted with plant-based proteins for an even healthier July and beyond.

Artprint on Society6: https://society6.com/product/pochero-puchero-recipe-art_print

Speaking of which, what’s the difference between Kaldereta, Afritada, Mechado, and Menudo?

First, what is usually the same?

4 basic ingredients connect the four stews: tomatoes and/or tomato sauce, potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers. Though potatoes and tomato sauce are the most common denominators.

Also, the four dishes have Spanish colonial influence, from the names, ingredients, to the methods of cooking. Mechado has roots in the “mecha” or “wick” of fat used to make tough beef succulent, though the method is used less and less nowadays. Menudo might be from the Spanish word for tiny, but the dish brought over due to colonization might have been a Mexican Menudo.

There are also many other tomato-based dishes such as Pochero, Escabeche, and even Filipino Spaghetti. These stews are so rich in flavor, even vegetable or vegan recipes abound.

And though the debates continue, it means that cooks and chefs are making their own renditions. Together we make these uniquely Filipino stews better and better… and always best for the times, for friends, family, and festivity.

Venn diagram artprint on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1227518945/kaldereta-afritada-mechado-menudo