Kaldereta, also spelled Caldereta is a hearty Filipino dish originating out of Spain. The name Caldereta comes from the the spanish “caldera”, meaning cooking pot. In most of Spain caldereta is made with lamb, beef, or goat. In the Balearic Islands and Minorca it is commonly made with lobsters. Caldereta is similar to the cooking style of guisado (stewed) commonly found in Mexico and Texas — think carne guisado with the Filipino touches of soy sauce and a sweeter taste. This is one of my favourite mainstay dishes. We have it in some form several times a month. It fuses flavours of tomatoes, olives, peppers, and sherry or red wine. This dish can be cooked with a number of meats including lamb, chicken, beef , or goat. My favourite preparation is with goat.
2 lbs. chicken (preferably a mixture of chicken breasts and boneless, skinless, chicken thighs)
1/2 cup cooking sherry
2 cloves garlic, minced
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup onions
1 cup sliced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
20 slivers of red bell pepper, sliced.
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
2 bay leaves (preferably Turkish)
1 tsp paprika
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup chicken stock
kosher salt to taste
1/2 cup uncooked chicken livers
1/2 cup green olives, pitted
2 oz. Edam cheese (can also use Gouda)
3 tbsp. olive oil for chicken + 2 tbsp. (kalamata works very well)
2 Thai chilies (optional) if you want spicier.
Cut the chicken into pieces (not to small). Remove the excess fat.
Heat the olive oil in pan on medium, then braise each piece of chicken until light brown. This method will help keep the chicken from falling apart as it simmers. Remove each piece as it is browned. Then add 2 tbsp additional olive oil to the pan. Cook the garlic and onion for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, diced bell peppers, and chili peppers (if wanted) and cook for 3 minutes.
In order add the chicken and stir in, then bay leaves, paprika, tomato sauce, soy sauce. Cook for 3 more minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook on simmer low for 1.5 hours.
Bring mixture to low, add sherry, cheese, the 20 slivers of red bell pepper, sliced, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes. Cook liver in a separate pan in a small amount of oil until done, then chop up and add to kalderera. Add olives and cook for 2 minutes.
In small bowl, cut up thai chiles and add 1 tbsp of fish sauce. Sprinkle this over kaldereta. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
If you are new to Filipino cooking also checkout my recipe for Adobo Chicken
