Chicken Pochero (Chicken Pot)

Pochero is a Spanish dish of meat chunks stewed using local ingredients, such as, saba bananas (or plantains), potatoes or sweet potatoes, long beans, chickpeas, cabbage, and tomato sauce. This is the chicken version.

Chicken Pochero

1 3 to 4 pound whole chicken

3 pieces Spanish chorizo, sliced thinly

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 tablespoons patis (fish-sauce)

2 tablespoon whole black pepper corns

1 small can tomato sauce

1 cup chick peas (garbanzos)

2 large ripe plaintain banana

1 medium sized potato

1 small cabbage, quartered

1/4-pound long green beans

1 bunch bok choy

1 cup water

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Cut chicken into serving pieces, remove and discard back. Cut plaintain into 1/2-inch rounds; cut potato into 1/2-inch cubes; remove root end from bok choy and cut remainder into four pieces.

Heat cooking oil in a large pot; fry the banana until color turns golden brown. Reserve.

Add the chorizo to the same pot and fry for about 3 to 5 minutes. Reserve.

Add garlic, onions and tomatoes to same pot and until soft.

Add chicken to onion and tomato mixture and cook for five minutes.

Add patis, pepper corns, tomato sauce and water. Stir to blend. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until beef is tender (about 30 to 40 minutes).

Add fried chorizo, fried banana, potato, garbanzos and simmer for 7 minutes.

Add cabbage and long green beans. Cook for 5 minutes.

Stir-in the bok choy. Cover the pot and turn off the heat letting residual heat cook the bok choy (about 5 minutes).

Transfer to a serving plate or bowl and serve with boiled white rice.