Since I live miles away from my family, last week, only my brother, I invited to visit me here in our house in hubby's hometown. He also works in Manila, and we are just a city away from each other. However, we seldom had time to meet as we were busy with our job. Good thing he was able to file for a leave of absence at work. Now, my problem was what food to prepare 🤣. You know I suck when it comes to the cooking department. Thanks to the husband for rescuing me, lol. He asked me, " What do you want me to cook?"
That made me think for a while;* What about the Potchero Batangas version?* "
You might wonder if my husband and I come from a different regions, and our dishes and style of cooking sometimes vary. One of the examples was the Potchero. I remember the first time we went to the market to buy ingredients; we almost argued as we picked differently. Next time, I may be sharing our ways of cooking, but for now, let me share this one.
What are the ingredients?
- Meat could be pork or chicken, or even fish
- Carrots
- Pechay (cabbage)
- Potato
- Tomato
- Baguio Beans
- Ketchup
- Tomato Sauce
- Garlic and Onions
- Seasonings
- Banana (Saba)
- Hunts pork and pineapple syrup is just optional, depending on your liking
The husband added pork and fish for today's menu as the main ingredients. My brother doesn't eat pork; I wouldn't say I like it much. A slice is enough for me, the opposite of the latter.
The Process
Deep fry of the ingredients till it was cooked aside from the cabbage.
Once all set, stir-fry the onions and garlic, then add the sliced tomatoes. Then add the tomato sauce and ketchup and wait until it simmer. After that, we add the pineapple syrup and hunts forks and beans. As per the husband's like. Also, add the seasonings such as salt, black pepper, and knor cubes; you may also add a pinch of brown sugar to add sweetness.
Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add our main ingredients, Pork and fishwhen the boils. We are careful while placing the fried fish.
Covered the pot and let it boil for a while also to absorb the seasonings. Remember to taste the soup if it is already to your liking before adding the vegetables.
Last to be added is the cabbage.
I mixed it carefully as I remembered there was a fish! To be sure, I place all the slices on the other side for me to do the mixing freely!
And here is our dish, Potchero - Batangas Ala-e
Looking at the photos reminds me I needed to improve my skills in plating and thank you for dropping by.
Lead image was edited using Canva
All photos are mine
Footer credit to Sensiblecast