Kalderetang Manok

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken
• 2 potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tomato
• 3 cups water
• tomato sauce
• bell pepper
• dried peas
• liver spread
• fish sauce
• grated cheese
• 2 tbsp salt
• black pepper
• olive oil

Method

Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or casserole over medium-high heat. This is one-pot-cooking — everything builds in the same vessel, layering flavour as you go. Dice the onion into roughly 1cm pieces and crush the garlic; add both to the hot oil and cook for two minutes until the onion turns translucent and the garlic releases its sharp bite. The aromatics form the base note. Add the tomato — fresh, diced — and let it soften for another minute. This early step matters: the aromatic-vegetables|aromatics cook out their raw sharpness and become sweet.

Pat the chicken dry and season it generously with salt and black pepper. Add it to the pot and resist the urge to move it around. You want a proper sear on the meat, which takes three to four minutes per side until the surface turns golden-brown. This isn't vanity — the browning is a braising principle: the fish-sauce and tomato-based broth you're building will taste thin and insipid if the chicken hasn't developed colour. Once both sides are caramelised, pour in the water and bring it to a rolling boil. This denatures the muscle proteins and begins extracting gelatin from the bones. Add the fish sauce now — half a teaspoon to start, tasted and adjusted at the end. Fish sauce is an umami anchor; it deepens the broth without making it taste fishy if used with restraint.

Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to partially cook the chicken through. Add the tomato sauce, potatoes (cut into 2cm cubes), carrots (on the bias, 2cm thickness), and the liver spread — whisk it in thoroughly so it dissolves into an emulsion rather than sitting as a greasy paste. The liver spread thickens the broth and adds an earthy, mineral depth. Continue simmering for 12 to 15 minutes. The potatoes and carrots are done when a fork passes through the carrot with gentle resistance, not when they collapse. Taste and add more salt if the broth tastes flat. Add the dried peas and diced bell pepper in the final two minutes — these should remain slightly firm. Stir in the grated cheese just as you're plating; it will soften into the hot broth without fully melting, giving texture and a savoury edge. The cheese should stripe the surface, not disappear. Serve in deep bowls with the broth; this is a stew, not a dry dish.