How to Cook Filipino Beef Afritada in a Crock Pot

This post was published in October 2015 and has been updated 2 /23/2016

I cook my Beef Afritada in the Crock Pot to prepare a delicious meal when I come home. I serve this with rice or bread, and I am good to go. It is loaded with carrots, potatoes, bell pepper, and green peas. In spite of these ingredients, I think it is the green peas that bind all of the ingredients to accentuate its flavor. You can use pork or chicken, but so far, beef is my favorite for this recipe. 

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Beef Afritada is a type of Filipino stew. This is one of my favorites growing up . Like the other foods, I serve in this blog, like Kare-Kare, Siopao, Pancit Molo, and Lumpia , this meal is adaptable to any other culture’s palate. If you are American, you will enjoy it for the sauce and for its high protein. If you are Asian, there is a hint of sweetness in it too… if you are Indian, you are gonna love the aroma in this… if you are Filipino like me, I simply think that aside from its good taste, I think preparing Beef Afritada simply brings the memory of home.

Beef Afritada was usually served by my grandma on Sundays after mass. Normally,  grandma cooked our meals, including this Beef afritada on clay cooking ware, you know, those handmade clay pots and handmade clay stove, since that is all she got then. She will gather some firewood and start her own fire. Then she progressed to a gas stove, but once in a while, she still cooked her Afritada on a clay pot and clay stove, saying, “clay pots give better tastes than anything.”

For me, however,  I am cooking mine in a crock pot because:

1. I have no time this week to be cooking the stovetop.

2. Clay stoves and pots are unavailable here in the US. We are just too modern now, right? And besides, starting my own fire and finding a location in my house to mound the ashes to set my clay stove on, does not seem practical.

3. I did not see, taste, or smell the difference between cooking on clay and a crock pot… SO GRANDMA, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FROM THE HEAVENS, DON’T SQUIRM, I AM USING MY CROCK POT…

The result… the mixture of saltiness and sourness blended with the pepper, green peas, and beef is just like being transported way back to when I was sitting in my granny’s kitchen while we were waiting for the afritada to cook… I CAN FEEL GRANNY BESIDE ME AGAIN with this authentic meal. I miss you, Lola! —  (Filipino word for grandma pronounce low lah)

How to Cook Filipino Beef Afritada in a Crock Pot

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Author: [email protected] skinnypot

Ingredients

• 1 lb Boneless Beef for Stew cut into small bit pieces
• 5 inches long carrots cut into small cubes
• 2 medium sized potatoes cut into small sized cubes
• 1 can 8 oz Hunt's Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 of Large red Bell Pepper cut into small cubes
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 can 14.5 oz Low Fat and Low Sodium Chicken Broth or beef broth
• 4 pieces small Hot Dogs preferably Purefoods Brand but the Red Colored ones in your groceries will do
• 1 tsp brown sugar to taste and salt

Instructions

• Put the beef on the bottom of the crock pot. Add in potatoes, carrots and bell pepper and hot dog. Pour in the beef broth and Crock pot on high for 4 hours and 6 hours on Low Overnight. When ready, add in the tomatoe sauce and mix. Continue cooking for 10-15 minutes and add frozen green peas. Turn off crock pot . Let it sit for few more minutes and serve.

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