Spare Ribs Kaldereta (Caldereta)

I think it is right and just that this dish be my pilot post. I was cooking this last Saturday when I heard whispers in my head, “i-blog mo ‘to, ikayayaman mo ‘to”, aba! For the sake of money, I am really easily fooled. lol Kaldereta is something very new to me, actually it was my 1^st time to cook it. I was just challenged by Mr. M and his craving, that I was forced to cook it. We were having mechado for dinner when he burst “Sarap! Na-miss ko tuloy kaldereta, mag kaldereta ka naman. Marunong ka?” “Oo, naman. Sige sa Sabado” was my reply. For me, every meat with red sauce is mechado, I thought there would be no difference, except for the presence of liver spread. The following day, I scan the net for its ingredients and proved myself right. So with pride, I marketed for ingredients and whipped it with head high. For this recipe I used the following:

3/4 kilo pork spare ribs, cut into serving size
3 pieces potato, diced
1 piece red bell pepper, diced
1 piece green bell pepper, diced
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
3 pieces chili, minced
1 can liver spread
250 grams tomato sauce (MMK for added nutrients)
Water, salt and pepper / fish sauce, cooking oil

1) Fry the potato. Set aside.
2) On the same pan, sauté garlic and onion. Add spare ribs stir until it turned to brown. Add water and simmer until tender. * It is important to take out the scum from the 1^st boil for a purer broth* (It is a must for my family to reach the lambot para sa walang ipin level, I guess it is also helps in bringing-out the flavor in the dish).
3) When the meat is tender add the potato. Add the liver spread, stir to blend.
4) Add tomato sauce. * Let it simmer without stirring and do not cover, to achieve a thicker consistency.
5) Add the chillies and bell peppers. Season with salt, pepper and fish sauce. Let it simmer a little more. Serve hot.

My take? Kaldereta is totally different from mechado. The presence of chillies makes it spicy and the liver spread makes it flavorful. If you will notice, I didn’t use carrots simply because nobody eats carrots in the family. Some also use olives or green peas, just the same we don’t like it that’s why I omitted those.

Tip: Never let your daughter as clingy as my Ms. L disturb you when frying potatoes, mine was half cooked.

The verdict: This was not the kaldereta Mr. M was expecting, he was expecting really brown one like his mother's version. That I have to verify. Nevertheless, he said it was delish! Not bad for a 1st timer.