Chicken Afritada

Filipino Chicken Afritada is a delightful stew featuring tender chicken, vibrant vegetables, and a savory tomato-based sauce. With our easy-to-follow recipe, you can enjoy this authentic and homemade Chicken Afritada at home! Serve with rice and drizzle the delicious sauce all over!

Much like the other Filipino classic dishes namely Adobo, Pansit, and Menudo – the Afritada is also quite popular and is often served at birthdays, weddings, and other gatherings. Much like Menudo, Mechado and Kaldereta, Afritada is highly influenced by the “estofado” or Spanish stew.

What is Filipino Chicken Afritada?

Filipino Chicken Afritada is a traditional stew that features tender chicken pieces cooked in a savory tomato-based sauce. It typically includes an assortment of vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and green peas, which add colors, textures, and distinct flavors to the dish. Sauteed aromatic spices like garlic and onions enhance the overall taste profile. Chicken Afritada is a comforting and hearty meal often enjoyed with steamed rice, perfect for gatherings and family dinners.

For Afritada, you can use either Chicken or Pork or even a combination. You can use an entire cut-up chicken or just plain thighs and drumstick. I only had some drumsticks when I made this but feel free to use the chicken parts that you like.

Why You would love this recipe for Chicken Afritada

You’ll love this Filipino chicken stew recipe because it offers a perfect balance of savory flavors, tender chicken, and vibrant vegetables. While other recipes typically use canned tomato sauce and simmer the chicken in it for an hour or so, I use fresh chopped tomatoes and let the chicken absorb all its flavor. This makes a huge difference.

Instead of ending with a sour sauce, you get a more robust flavor with hints of sweetness. Any additional tomato-based sauce is simply added at the end to further enhance the taste without overwhelming the entire dish. The result is a flavorful Chicken Afritada dish that’s ideal for both weeknight dinners and special occasions.

If you are Filipino and have access to Del Monte Ketchup, that is what we use for all our stew because it’s not as tart as the tomato sauce or the regular American ketchup. But if not, tomato sauce or regular ketchup will do – just add a little brown sugar at the end when you add the sauce or ketchup to balance the flavor. It will come out terrific!

Enjoy this delicious Filipino Chicken stew – Afritada with some freshly cooked rice!

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Ingredients for Chicken Afritada

• Chicken drumsticks or thighs, skin-on dark chicken meat is best for this so they can withstand longer cooking without drying up. You may add some chicken breast to the mix if you like.
• Olive Oil – or oil of choice
• Garlic cloves – add more for extra flavor
• Onion – it’s traditional to use shallots in the Philippines so feel free to replace onions with 1-2 red shallots.
• Roma or plum tomatoes
• Fish Sauce – get a good quality fish sauce with no additives (may be replaced with soy sauce)
• Water
• Bay leaves – fresh or dried
• Red potato – this holds its shape better than yellow potatoes so I always prefer this
• Red bell pepper
• Carrot
• Del Monte Tomato Ketchup – if you can use Filipino brand which is slightly sweeter then do so. May also be replaced with tomato sauce.
• Green peas
• A little brown sugar – to enhance flavor and reduce acidity

Instructions for Chicken Afritada

Heat the oil in a deep pan or Dutch oven. Add the chicken pieces and fry until nicely browned on all sides. Transfer the chicken to another plate. Set aside. To the oil that’s left add the garlic and onions. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the tomatoes. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until the tomatoes soften a bit. Stir the veggies to remove the remaining brown bits on the bottom.

Return the chicken to the pan. Add the fish sauce (or salt – not 2 Tablespoons but according to taste) and a little water (about 1/4 -1/3 cup). Add the bay leaves and simmer until the chicken is tender. Check after half an hour or so.

While the chicken is cooking prepare the potatoes and carrots. When the chicken is tender, add the potatoes and carrots. Cook for about 10 minutes. While the carrots are cooking, prepare the bell peppers. Chop or slice them in roughly the same size as the carrots and potatoes. Refer to the photos of the chicken afritada for some guidance. Add the bell peppers and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.

When both chicken and veggies are all tender, add the ketchup or tomato sauce with the green peas. Cook until green peas are tender and the sauce is fully heated through. Adjust seasoning, if needed. You may sprinkle a little brown sugar to sweeten or balance the flavor. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Can I use boneless chicken for this recipe? While bone-in chicken adds flavor, you can certainly use boneless chicken thighs or breasts if preferred. You can even use an entire cut-up chicken if you like. Adjust the cooking time accordingly as boneless cuts cook faster, if you opt to use that.

Can I make Chicken Afritada ahead of time? Yes, Chicken Afritada actually tastes better the next day as the flavors have had time to meld. Simply store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat gently before serving.

Are there any suitable substitutes for fish sauce? If you don’t have fish sauce on hand, soy sauce can be used as a substitute. However, fish sauce adds a unique depth of flavor or umami that enhances the dish, so it’s worth seeking out if possible. Fish sauce is a very common seasoning in Asian cooking and may be found in the Asian section of your grocery aisle and certainly at any Asian store.

With its comforting flavors and simple preparation, Chicken Afritada is a quintessential Filipino dish that’s perfect for family dinners or gatherings with friends. By following this easy recipe, you’ll be able to recreate the warmth and satisfaction of homemade Afritada in your own kitchen. So gather your ingredients and let’s get cooking!

Chicken Afritada

Manila Spoon

A delicious stew with tender chicken pieces slowly simmered in a perfectly seasoned tomato sauce and loaded with vegetables, too. Enjoy this Chicken Afritada with some rice and drizzle the sauce all over!

4.97 from 29 votes

Print Recipe Save Saved!

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Main, Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Filipino, Southeast Asia

Servings 6

Calories 314 kcal

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• 2.2 lbs (1 kilo) Chicken drumsticks or thighs, skin on (may be seasoned/rubbed with a little salt)
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil, or oil of choice
• 3-4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 3 large Roma or plum tomatoes, chopped or diced
• 2 tbsp fish sauce, maybe substituted with soy sauce (but use fish it if you can find and if possible because it adds depth of flavor)
• 1/4-1/3 cup water
• 2 dried Bay leaves
• 1 large Red potato, quartered and then sliced again*
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped*
• 1 large carrot, chopped*
• ⅓-½ cup Del Monte Tomato Ketchup, or tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
• A little brown sugar, to enhance flavor and reduce acidity

Instructions

 

• Heat the oil in a deep pan or Dutch oven. Add the chicken pieces and fry until nicely browned on all sides. Transfer the chicken to another plate. Set aside.
  
• To the oil that’s left add the garlic and onions.
  
• Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the tomatoes. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until the tomatoes soften a bit. Stir the veggies to remove the remaining brown bits on the bottom.
  
• Return the chicken to the pan. Add 2 Tablespoon of fish sauce (or salt – not 2 Tablespoons but according to taste) and a little water (about 1/4 -1/3 cup). Add the bay leaves and simmer until chicken is tender. Check after half an hour or so.
  
• While the chicken is cooking prepare the potatoes and carrots. When the chicken is tender, add the potatoes and carrots. Cook for about 10 minutes. While the carrots are cooking, prepare the bell peppers. Chop or slice them in roughly the same size as the carrots and potatoes. Refer to the photos of the chicken afritada for some guidance.
  
• Add the bell peppers and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.
  
• When both chicken and veggies are all tender, add the ketchup or tomato sauce with the green peas and the bacon pieces. Cook until green peas are tender and the sauce is fully heated through.
  
• Adjust seasoning, if needed. You may sprinkle a little brown sugar to sweeten or balance the flavor. Enjoy!
  

Notes

TIPS & TRICKS

*Use fish sauce if possible because it adds more flavor and makes it more authentic. To make sure it’s good quality buy only the Thai or Vietnamese variety with no additives.

*The vegetables should be relatively the same size (but bigger cut than menudo style).

Nutrition

Calories: 314kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 23gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 683mgPotassium: 509mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 2533IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 2mg

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Last updated on July 15th, 2024 at 06:33 pm