Beef Pochero Recipe

The sweetness of banana saba or plantain and sweet potatoes makes this Beef Pochero recipe so uniquely delicious! Some uses baked beans or canned pork and beans instead of chickpeas (garbanzos) and also potatoes instead of sweet potato so feel free to use either or. For me, when cooking Pochero sweet potato is a must. Maybe got to do with how my Papa used to cook it and I always find it so delicious. This dish was a staple growing up in the Philippines and always has been my favorite Filipino beef stew.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 lbs beef shanks or short ribs
• 5-6 cups of water
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 tsp cracked pepper (peppercorns)
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 2 plantain or 4 saba banana. sliced
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, sliced
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 200 grams or 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce or to taste
• 1 tbsp sugar or to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• 12-15 pieces green beans, trimmed
• 1 cup (canned) garbanzos, drained
• 1 small cabbage, quartered
• 1 bunch pechay (bok choy), trimmed

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Boil or pressure cook beef in water, onions and cracked peppercorns until tender. If using a pressure cooker, pressure cook for about 25-30 minutes. If boiling, bring into a quick boil then reduce heat to simmer over medium-low heat for about 1-2 hours. Once beef is tender, remove beef from the broth and set aside beef broth for later use. 
2. In a deep pan, heat over medium-low heat and add canola oil. Fry bananas followed by sweet potatoes for about 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan and set aside. 
3. Using the same pan, sauté onion and garlic until fragrant for about a minute. Add tomatoes and cook until soft for about 2 minutes. Add boiled beef to the pan followed by the tomato sauce and beef (3-4 cups) broth. Stir gently and Cover pan. Simmer for 20 minutes or until beef is fully tender while stirring occasionally. 
4. Add fried sweet potatoes and fried cooking banana. Cover pan and simmer for about 5 minutes or until sweet potatoes and cooking banana are almost tender. Season with fish sauce, sugar, ground pepper and salt to taste. Gently stir to combine. 
5. Add green beans and garbanzos (chickpeas). Cover and continue to cook for about 3 minutes or beans are tender yet crisp. Add cabbage and cover pan. Cook for about 2 minutes or until half tender. Add pechay and cover pan. Cook for a minute or until pechay is half cooked. 
6. Remove pan from heat and leave the cover on. Let it rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve while hot with steamed rice. Enjoy!