Description
Made in the spirit of many Filipino stews, this dish reminds me of the stews that my grandmother used to make. It is loaded with hardy veggies and flavorful pork – perfect for an autumn meal!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 4 bone-in pork chops, approximately 1-inch thick (2 to 3 pounds)
- Water as needed
- 1 onion, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1/2 kabocha squash, cubed, approximately 2 cups (substitute butternut squash, if needed)
- 4 cups purple yardlong beans, cut to 2-inch lengths (substitute green beans, if needed)
- 2 chayote squash, peeled and cubed, approximately 2 cups (substitute 1 cup zucchini and 1 cup potatoes, if needed)
- 4 cups water spinach (substitute baby spinach, if needed)
- Soy sauce, to taste
- Cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- In a large lidded pot (I like to use a Dutch oven), melt the butter and cooking oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic, then add the pork to the pot and brown quickly on each side. This usually takes about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Pour in enough water to cover the meat by about 2 inches. Stir in the onion and bring the liquid to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Let the pork braise for at least 90 minutes, or until tender.
- When the pork is tender, you can remove the bone if you wish. I keep it for making stock later!
- Stir in the kabocha and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the beans and cook for 5 minutes more. Add in the chayote and simmer for 10 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the water spinach and remove from the heat. You want the water spinach just barely blanched.
- Season to taste with soy sauce as needed. Serve immediately with rice.
Notes
If you don’t have a local Filipino market, I have provided suggestions for more readily available vegetables. But, if you can get to a market with Asian vegetables, go crazy and get creative! Also, I used bone-in pork chops because that’s what I had. You can easily use pork spare ribs or even cubes of pork for this recipe.
If you are substituting vegetables other than those listed in the recipe, you will want to add them to the stew in series based on how long they take to cook.
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Filipino
