Mechadong Carne (Filipino braised beef)
It was a cold Friday evening and I was preparing to make dinner. I wanted some comfort food but I had gone grocery shopping so I scanned my fridge and freezer for what I had. I had thawed some stewing beefing the night before (you always have to think ahead when you're a mom). I also had red peppers, a little bit of green peppers left, and some potatoes. Perfect! Just the right ingredients to make filipino comfort food. Beef Mechado.
Beef Mechado is slow braised beef with a tomato sauce base. This is a staple in filipino homes. Not necessarily the fastest food to make, but it is one of the easiest. If you have a slow cooker, you just throw all the ingredients in and a few hours later (approx. 4-5 hours) you've got yourself some delicious braised beef ready for consumption.
Ingredients: 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 piece large onion, sliced 2 lbs beef chuck,cubed 8 ounces tomato sauce 1 cup water 3 tbsp cooking oil 1 slice lemon with rind 1 piece large potato, cubed ¼ cup soy sauce ½ tsp. ground black pepper 2 pcs. bay leaves (laurel) salt to taste
Preparation:
- Heat cooking oil in a pan then saute the garlic and onion.
- place the beef and saute for about 3 minutes or until color turns light brown
- Add the tomato sauce and water then simmer until the meat is tender. approx. 2 hours depending on the quality of the beef. Add water as needed.
- Add the soy sauce, ground black pepper, lemon rind, bay leaves
- and salt then simmer and allow the sauce to reduce
- Add potatoes, red pepper and green pepper and cook until the potato has softened.
- serve in a serving dish while still hot with your choice of rice.
