Calderetang Batangas

My dear friend asked for this recipe so I thought I should right it down here to get this blog going.  Thanks to notable Batangeñas who gave me ideas on how to make this delectable dish.


Batangeños use goat meat (mutton) or beef for this dish.  This is not the typical caldereta you'll find in Manila or other parts of the Philippines.  I used more ingredients in the first caldereta recipe I learned to cook where I added tomato sauce and red bell peppers (capsicum).  This version is different because it uses lots of onions and no tomatoes or tomato sauce.  I am still overwhelmed with the amount of chopped onion I have to saute for this dish but in the end I see where all that sauce comes from!   Some say the ratio of meat to onion should be 2:1 while others say it should be 1:1.  I use the 2 part meat 1 part onion ratio.


Ingredients:
1 kg beef (combination of cubes and ribs)
1/4 cup soy sauce (dark + light)
2 tbsp white vinegar
60g butter
6 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 kg red onions chopped finely
25g chicken liver (chopped finely)
1 tsp (Lea and Perrins) Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
50g liver spread or liver pate or 25g more chopped chicken liver (optional)
2 tbsp grated cheddar cheese
3 pcs bird's eye chilies (siling labuyo) optional


Procedure:
Marinate the beef in soy sauce - vinegar mixture for about 30 minutes.  Saute garlic and onion in butter until onion is translucent.  This may take about 5 minutes.  Add the chicken liver and saute for about 2 more minutes.  Add in the marinated beef together with the marinade. Add the Worcestershire sauce, salt and ground black pepper.  Bring to boil then lower the heat.  Simmer (with lid on) for about 2 to 3 hours until meat comes to your desired tenderness.  Skim off the oil or fats.  Add liver spread, grated cheese and chilies.  Stir then simmer for 10 more minutes.