Saturday, September 15, 2007

Our Caldereta

No one makes caldereta better than my Mom. Her very own style is simple, with the simplest ingredients, but really big in taste.

The ingredients cannot get any simpler than these, garlic and onions. But lots and lots of them! The more, the merrier, indeed.


Hana was a bit worried, though, at the huge mounds of chopped garlic and onions she saw.

Of course the main ingredient would be your choice cut of beef. I personally prefer beef ribs. I add in some cut brisket to add more meat to the dish. The meat is marinated in some soy sauce and a little vinegar for about 30 mins.

Then, the cooking starts. Simply saute the huge mounds of garlic and onions in butter or margarine. Then add the chunks of beef into the pot and saute some more until you brown the meat.

It should look like this at this point. Add, then, enough water to cover the dish and simmer until the meat is tender, really tender.

By the time the meat is tender and almost falling off the bone, the sauce would have been reduced and thickened. Add then a small can of liver spread for more flavor and texture. (Pound liver is actually preferred.)

And still, a few minutes before turning of the heat, grated cheese (I use Magnolia Quickmelt Cheese) is added. It should thicken the sauce even more and add extra creaminess to the dish.

The last thing added would be the siling labuyo to give the Caldereta that kick. Add as much sili as you want depending on how hot you want it to be.


I am proud of my Mom's Caldereta. No carrots, no potatotes, no olives, no tomato sauce, but hers is the best I have tried. Until now, my version pales in comparison to hers, but I believe I am slowly perfecting her art of Caldereta.

I never eat Caldereta cooked any other way. Try it. You will know what I mean.

46 comments:

  1. mukhang masarap ha! halos pareho lang pala yung recipe natin eh, ate gits. yun nga lang sa amin has tomato sauce added.

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  2. tomato sauce pala ang secret ng sa yo, heinji. yummy din im sure.
    ang sauce ng caldereta ng mom ko, made up of tons of durog na onions and garlic and some liver. dapat kasi pounded liver yun not the canned liver spread.
    hay, nagutom ako bigla..

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  3. Wow. I've always thought that caldereta must have tomato sauce. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I'll surely try this one of these days.

    Have a happy weekend, Gita!

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  4. im happy to share this with everyone. it is really very simple to do. have a great sunday too, bugsybee.

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  5. yummy photos gita! am one of the few lurkers you have and am loving your site.. I actually stumbled on your site from Girltalk and eversince am hooked.. nice blogs!

    my caldereta has one ingridient that's not on your recipe but you might want to try adding, it's curry powder.. it makes it taste like the caldereta on spanish restos.. it gives it a wonderful smell and a different taste.. i also don't add tomato sauce coz i use lots of tomatoes when i saute' my onions and garlic.. anyway, hope you'd try it next time.. :)

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  6. thanks for the kind words, bytchgoddess. glad you like my photos...

    anyway, curry powder sounds good nga a. ill try it next time. and ill tell my mom about it too.

    this is how they do caldereta in batangas, my mom said. they use kambing pa nga instead of beef eh. i play it safe and use beef. besides, kambing is hard to find here in manila.

    GTalker ka din pala? nice there no? lots of topics, lots of friends to find... more power to us !
    thanks again. dont ever tire of lurking ha... ;-)

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  7. hi sis taga batangas din pala mom mo. taga dun din mom ko. :) and ganyan nga ang calderetang batangas. simple lang pero the best!!! at totoo din na mas maganda gamitin ang kambing kaysa sa baka. pero pwede na rin ang baka. Sa totoo lang dun lang ako kumakain ng caldereta lalo na pag fiesta,kahit gaano karami caldereta kainin mo ok lang. hay naglalaway na naman ako. hehehe :)

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  8. oo, lovingsue, pati dad ko, from batangas din. pero kaming magkakapatid, born and raised na here sa manila. wala kaming alam na caldereta kundi itong Batangas style, which i agree, is the best! at we wont settle for any other kind! diba! ;-)

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  9. oo sis da best talaga ang batangas-style caldereta. lalo na pag rice mo eh yung kanin nila na may kasamang pandan. grabe sarap kumain. yum! :)

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  10. Gita,

    thanks, this will be in our menu for next week. sure looks yummy...pero i'll add a few slices of sweet pickles, tomato sauce & tomato paste(next time). try this ingredients too sometime. your key ingredients though are great(your mom's secret!).

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  11. i have a different beef dish that is tomato sauce based. will blog that too soon, joe. do try our caldereta without tomato muna. let me know how it turns out...

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  12. Uy, simpleng recipe but it looks yummy! Thanks for sharing this one. I'll try this. Caldereta is my fave!

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  13. hi! i was looking for some recipes off the net and i found your site. looks tasty.

    p.s. thanks for the comment on my post at pinoyblogosphere re: media in focus on the malu fernandez issue.=)

    (underside.wordpress.com)

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  14. nina, thanks for dropping by my little space. take my word for it, our caldereta is pretty good!

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  15. Mindy!, try this. take my word for it, masarap sha... dont forget to marinate the meat before sauteeing... and put in lots of sili for that kick! ;-) let me know how it turns out...

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  16. sis!!! i cooked this kanina! kabado ako kase di naman talaga ako marunong magluto. tagal lumambot ng beef (brisket), as in natuyo na yun sabaw, nakailang dagdag ako ng water. tapos ayun, pagkaluto, ang lasa ko, kalderetang KESO!!! hahaha! napadami lagay ko ng keso eh, pasaway! pero ayun, ok naman din, naparami ng kain mga kasama ko dito sa bahay hehe! thanks sis! dati kase gang prito prito lang ako eh haha. blog mo din sana yun sa tomato sauce. thanks ulit muah! napahaba post ko hehe!

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  17. hey sis lel! im so happy for you! buti naman nagustuhan ng mga kasama mo ang caldereta... masaya naman ako na nakatulong ang blog ko somehow.. sige, baka next week, magluto ako ng Beef Asado ko, ill try to blog it again. happy eating!

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  18. Sis I cooked your Caldereta recipe yesterday and my daugther said that it's soo yummy daw yung sauce daw pwedeng yun nang ulamin.

    Thanks for the recipe. I'll cook your Caldereta style again this coming Nov. 1 for our meal sa cemetery.

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  19. clarisse, wow, im so happy that the dish turned out well! nakakatuwa naman... im so glad your daughter liked it.
    sabi nga ng mom ko, this caldereta daw is one of the mainstays pag fiesta sa batangas. ;-)
    i hope the whole clan will love it on nov. 1! :-)

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  20. Hey Gita I just tried your kaldereta.=) It really was the first time I had kaldereta without tomatoes but it was very rich and tasty. I have to confess though that I couldn't help adding some olives.=)
    Thanks for the recipe.=)

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  21. ruy, glad you tried it... masarap naman diba? ya, some do add olives. actually, in batangas, my mom said they use kambing instead of beef. i wonder how this recipe would turn out if lamb was used... baka pwede din...
    ;-)

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  22. Sarap! My wife was thinking osso buco nga eh.=) Lamb should be really tasty. I actually used wagyu beef in ccoking it and it really was good.
    Nice recipe talaga!
    Thanks again for sharing that.=)

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  23. ruy, im happy to share it with everyone... and even happier now that you actually liked it! yey!

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  24. hello! got your site at GT and found myself reading it from the 1st entry. i also have a blog but i'm not brave enough to share it coz it's very personal.

    anyway, thanks for sharing this. i tried it last weekend. it ws not a success because the meat was not tender. i realized i did not put enough water to tenderize the beef but the sauce was really good. will try it one more time! thanks again!

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  25. kleyr0608@yahoo.com, naku, thanks for sifting thru my blog. i hope you enjoyed.
    and i hope you enjoy your caldereta more next time. dont be afraid to add more water if the beef isnt tender yet. just adjust the taste when almost done by adding spices as needed. good luck!
    and thanks for dropping by...

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  26. Hi Gita,how much liver did you put in to your caldereta? Did you boil the liver first before mashing it?
    Thanx

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  27. Hi Gita, how much liver did you put-in to your caldereta? Did you boil the liver first before mashing it? Thanks.

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  28. sj, i put just one small can of Reno liver spread... am too lazy to pound liver... ;-)yup, my mom does boil the liver a little bit. just a little bit before pounding. let me know how it turns out when you cook this. i hope you like it... ;-)

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  29. Mas masarap if you use/add Lea & Perrins Worcestersire Sauce.

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  30. Yung sa mom ko ganito rin kaya lang she adds Lea Perrins, masarap din! Taga Batangas rin kami and kahit hanggang dito sa Houston niluluto pa rin namin kadereta Batangas :-)

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  31. Shai, caldereta a la batangas rules! the best diba! yea, i think my mom does add Lea and Perrins din sometimes... sarap nga din... ;-)

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  32. kalderetang batangas talagang the best but i suggest you add lea perrins for extra flavor(pang-gisa with margarine, onion, garlic and beef), 1 small can of carnation evaporada(add later pag matapos ng maluto-this makes a rich flavor), asuete for coloring(optional), and dinurog na biscuit for thickening( not a lot, just a little bit or as desired) and youre right, chopped a lot of onions..

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  33. Ala Eh? Ano ga?

    May dalawa pa akong ingredients na isinasama sa kaldereta. Relish Pickles at Green Olives. Oh yeah kung meron, a bit of Bisquick to help thicken the sauce. Naku, gutom na ako ah.

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  34. The best talaga ang calderetang batangas.
    Simple lang pero napakasarap. I'm also from batangas and right now nasa saudi arabia ako. Kaya mis na mis ko na ang caldereta ng nanay ko. Halos parehong parejo talaga ng recipe nyo mam. Mas masarap po talaga pag may lea and perrins worcestershire sauce. Nakakagutom at nakakamis talaga yan. Sana maluto ko din yan kahit hindi ako masyado magaling magluto. Tnx po for the recipe.

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  35. fav ko e2 masarap tlga xa i think my nagbebenta ng ganyan sa my balayan..

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  36. Batangas Caldareta is the best. The old folks used to use pounded liver for the sauce. But if that is too time consumming, liver pate works best. try adding worchestershire sauce for extra flavor and to color it use aschuete. Slow cooking is the best way to prepare this dish. Make the sauce while you are softening the beef so that the flavor will seep in the meat.

    Bon Appetit!

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  37. @BatangasNgaun and Loralie, i agree... Batangas Caldereta is the best diba!

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  38. Hi Git! This is Jec of PCHS! I cooked your recipe yesterday, hala, napakasarap nga! I'm always in a hurry kaya gumamit ako ng pressure cooker (with just enough water to cover the meat, para hindi masabaw). I cooked it for 13 minutes, 1/3 of a big can of Reno liver spread, put grated queso de bola & 1 siling labuyo (bikolana pa naman ako but my ma can't take too much heat). Kaunting kaunti na lang ang natira. Maski sabaw/gravy pwede na ngang pang-ulam. Next time I'm gonna add some worcestershire sauce. Batangas dish pala ito, and it sure is a fiesta/party food. I'm going to cook nest your recipe of beef & shiitake mushrooms. Thanks for sharing your recipes!!!

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  39. @Jec! thanks for dropping by... glad the recipe worked for you.... sige lang, cook lang tayo ng cook.. im really happy you liked it.
    yang beef na red, naku, sarap din yan!

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  40. making this now... Caldereta has always been my frustration as I never had the patience to cook anything that will take more than 1 hour. Let's see what this will taste like.

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  41. hi ari! thanks for dropping by. i hope the dish turns out the way you expect it. let me know how it turns out...

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  42. I let it cook for 3 hours last night, and just tried it now for lunch. I didn't really know what to expect, but it came out good. The flavor is very rich. I didn't make it out to be falling off the bone 'coz I personally would like something to chew on. I think, now, I can safely add Calderetang Batangas into the menu in my mind. Thank you! All I need now are a few friends for dinner to enjoy it.

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  43. Ari, i am so glad you liked it! go ahead, share it with your friends! yey!

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  44. I'm from Batangas, too. However, we make this a little different, some minor modifications.
    -Instead of vinegar, we use pickle relish for the sourness.
    -We also use atsuete to make it more red to make it more appealing. Having it brown makes it a little less appealing for people new to our version of caldereta. I think that's the reason why some have a version with tomato sauce.
    -We also put Worcestershire sauce.

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  45. hi, ashfenixx! thanks for the tip. i think my mom does add worcestershire sauce, too, sometimes. the pickle relish, she adds to her asado recipe (her recipe in another post) but not here. and she doesnt use atsuete, maybe because we like the brown caldereta as it is.
    thank for the tips... i think ill try to use some of them, too.

    batangas caldereta is truly the best no!

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