Bowl of Chicken Afritada
(click to enlarge)

Chicken Afritada


Philippine   -   Afritadang Manok
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 w/rice
***
2-1/4 hr
Yes		 A delicious stew of Chicken, Tomatoes and Potatoes. It can be made with joints, or with skinless, boneless chicken meat (best for buffet service). This recipe can be made ahead and reheats well.




1-1/4
1
10
6
10
7
1
1-1/2
1
1
1-1/2
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1/2
1
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ar
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#
oz
cl
oz
oz

T

c
T
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t
t
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Chicken Meat (1)  
Tomatoes
Onions
Garlic
Potatoes (2)
Bell Pepper, red
Chili Serrano
Oil
Bay Leaf
Chicken Stock
Fish Sauce (3)
----------
Pepper, Black
Fish Sauce
-- Serve With
Jasmine Rice
Prep   -   (45 min)
  1. Cut CHICKEN into about 1-1/2 inch chunks (or see Note-1).
  2. Scald TOMATOES one minute in boiling water. Quench in cold water and peel. Chop medium.
  3. Quarter ONIONS lengthwise and slice crosswise about 3/8 inch wide. Chop GARLIC coarse. Mix.
  4. Peel POTATOES and cut into about 3/4 inch cubes.
  5. Slice CHILI diagonally into thin slices.
  6. Blast Bell Pepper black with your Propane Torch and brush the skin off under running water. Slice into narrow strips about 1-1/2 inches long.
  7. Peel Potatoes and cut into about 3/4 inch cubes. Hold in cold water until needed.
Run   -   (1-1/2 hr)
  1. Heat 1-1/2 T Oil in a spacious sauté pan (or see Note-4). Fry half the Chicken, tumbling often until lightly browned on all sides. Remove and set aside. Repeat with the other half of the Chicken, adding more Oil if needed. If the fond starts to gets too dark, go to the next step immediately.
  2. Pour off oil so there is no more than 1 T left. Over moderately high heat, stir in Onion mix. Fry stirring until Onion is translucent.
  3. Stir in Tomatoes and fry stirring now and then until softened.
  4. Return Chicken to the pan and add Stock, Bay Leaf, Chili and Fish Sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for about 20 minutes.
  5. Drain Potatoes and stir in with Bell Pepper. Bring back to a boil and simmer covered another 20 minutes or until chicken is tender.
  6. Uncover and check liquid - there should be a fair amount. Adjust as needed. Stir in Pepper and Fish Sauce.
  7. Serve with steamed Jasmine rice.
NOTES:

  1. Chicken:

      Weight is skinless, boneless thigh meat (best for buffet service). I use the bones and skins to make the stock, so no flavor is lost. Up the weight to 1-1/2 pounds for joints with bones. The pattern recipe asked for 1-1/2 pounds Thighs cut in half. For the photo example, I had a bunch of Chicken Wing Joints in my freezer compartment, so I used 1-1/2 pounds of those. If you do use whole thighs, a razor sharp Chinese Cleaver Knife driven by a Soft Faced Mallet is perfect for cutting them in half.

  2. Potatoes:

      White Rose or similar work well in recipes of this sort. Avoid Klondike Gold type potatoes - they quickly turn to mush with long cooking or reheating. For details see our Potatoes page.

  3. Fish Sauce:

      This clear liquid is as essential to Southeast Asian cuisine as it was to Imperial Rome. If you are unfamiliar with it, see our Fish Sauce - Introduction page.

  4. Method

      I absolutely HATE pan frying Chicken, and so many recipes call for it. It splatters oil all over the place, and it's hard to get any browning on the chicken itself without burning the fond that sticks to the pan. This recipe can be done pan frying, but if making more than a single recipe (like for a party), I would definitely bring down my Indian Kadhai and deep fry the chicken. It takes a lot less time, makes much less mess, and the Chicken can actually be browned.

  5. Comments

      The pattern recipe didn't mention torching the Bell Pepper, but, with the proper torch, it takes only a couple minutes and is well worth the effort, especially if the recipe is to be reheated. You don't want tough pepper skins floating in your stew like strips of plastic.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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