Cocido/pochero – Manila style

In my column last week, “Spanish Cuisine 101,” my lesson plan (if you will) was tracing the origins, similarities and differences between our cocido/pochero and that of its progenitor, cocido madrileño. As is the tradition in Spain, the kind of meats and vegetables may vary from house to house, region to region, or what is preferred or afforded. But what separates us mainly is the manner of eating it and the condiments that accompany our version.  

I received several reactions from readers, basically agreeing with what I wrote, but all were wondering where our berenjena (Spanish for eggplant) sauce that goes with our cocido/pochero came from. The tomato sauce is easily ingestible (pun intended); the Spaniards have their pan con tomate (pa amb tomaquet in Catalan), which is basically a mash of ripe tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and salt, slathered over a slice of toasted bread, and also we’ve borrowed their way with sofrito or sautéing with garlic, onion and tomato, but have parted ways with our addition of ginger and bagoong alamang/shrimp paste, bagoong isda/anchovy paste, or patis/fish sauce.

By the way, in the Philippine context, cocido generally refers to the soup-based boiled meats and vegetable dish, while pochero is the tomato-based stew of the same meats and veggies (though interchangeable at times), and both are served with the berenjena sauce. But wait! In Legazpi City, Albay, cocido refers to their clear broth fish head soup (quite similar to sinigang but not as sour), while in Cebu, pochero is boiled beef shank, more popularly known as bulalo by the rest of us. Confusing enough? I’m just testing if you’re still with me (wink, wink).

Going back to the berenjena sauce. Cultural anthropologist Dr. Butch Zialcita of Ateneo de Manila University theorizes that Tagalogs love to counter cloyingly rich (suyâ, surfeit) dishes by adding a sour sawsawan (dipping sauce, i.e., vinegar, kalamansi, kamias). My co-author in the Kulinarya cookbook, former restaurateur-chef Conrad Calalang, attests that our berenjena sauce is a uniquely Tagalog concoction. He said it is nowhere to be found in Madrid, not even in his personal favorite restaurant Taverna La Bola (a Madrid institution since 1870, mentioned in my column last week); he also asked his friends residing there. Writer Chit Lijaoco of Sta. Rosa, Laguna, informed me they have la-oya, quite similar to berenjena sauce but with the addition of mashed boiled sabá and kamote to accompany their pochero. My sister-in-law Tessa Marquez, who grew up in a Spanish-speaking household in San Juan, says their family’s cocido is the tomato-based stew (guiso in Spanish), served with boiled saba, pechay Tagalog, olive oil, and a clear soup on the side.

Incidentally, it was a great privilege to have been invited by the Spain Tourism Board to attend the food conference Madrid Fusion last Jan. 21-23, which has afforded me the time and opportunity to investigate the origins of such iconic Filipino dishes bearing Spanish names that are generally believed to have come from madre España, like the adobo, estofado, escabeche, embutido, and yemas, to name a few. I have come home from the 10-day trip with a wealth of information, though a little squeaky in the joints from having my fill of the jamon iberico and quezos y vinos they feted me with everywhere I went.

To paraphrase an idiomatic expression: “There’s more to eat than meats the eye in Spain.” I got more than I bargained for. 

Here’s a recipe for cocido, Manila-style, adapted from the Kulinarya cookbook (serves 6 to 8). Meats, meat cuts and vegetables are variables depending on one’s preference. .

Cocido, Manila-style

Ingredients: 2 stalks leeks, clean and cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces; 3 pcs celery ribs, clean by removing leaves and wash; 3 pcs medium-sized onions, peel, separate 1 piece and quarter, chop the other 2 pieces; 4 pcs medium-sized carrots, peel, leave 1 piece whole, quarter the 3 carrots lengthwise and cut each piece into 2; 1 tsp. whole black peppercorns; 1 whole medium-sized cabbage, cut into 4 along its core to keep the quarters whole, wash; 1/4 kilo Baguio beans, wash and trim; 5 stalks pechay Tagalog (or bok choy), wash but leave pieces whole; 1 can (225 gms.) garbanzos, open the can, discard liquid, peel each piece and discard the skin; 4 pcs saba bananas, peel and cut into 2 diagonally, discard peel; 2 pcs medium-sized potatoes, peeled, washed and quartered; 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely; 3 pcs of 1/2 kilo each medium-sized beef  shank (kenchi) with bone marrow intact; 1/2 kilo beef brisket; 2 pcs chicken breasts with bone, fillet and set aside bones to make stock; 200 gms. thick bacon slab; 200 gms. ham hock; 2 pcs Spanish chorizo (known locally as chorizo de Bilbao), cut into 1/4” slices;  enough water to cover meat in stock pot; 3 tbsps. olive oil.

Procedure:

1. Put beef shanks, brisket, chicken bones, bacon slab, salted pork or ham hock and chorizo in a large casserole with the quartered onion, whole carrot and celery stalks.

2. Cover with enough tap water and bring to a boil. After about 10 minutes, remove the beef shanks from pot. Using a toothpick, prick the marrow around the inner wall of the bone in a circular motion. This is to loosen and then extract it off the tubular bone. Set aside. Note: if one allows the shank to boil till tender without extracting the morrow, it will just melt away like oil.

3. Lower heat and simmer until meats are tender. Take out pork, chicken bones, chorizo and bacon slab first as these will cook ahead and set aside.

4. Take 3 cups/ 720 ml of the broth and pour into a separate pot. Put in the quartered cabbage, sliced carrots, Baguio beans, pechay, bananas, and the garbanzos. Bring to a boil. Season the broth with salt and pepper. When the vegetables are cooked, remove from the pot and place on a platter.

5. Using the same broth where the veggies were cooked, heat to a rolling boil. Dunk the chicken breast and let boil for 1 minute covered with a lid. Turn off heat and let the chicken submerge in the broth for about 3 minutes.  Remove from pot with a strainer and dip in a bowl filled with iced water. This is to stop the cooking process, just like in making Hainanese chicken. You want a moist, tender chicken breast, not a dry overcooked one.

6. Place the meats that were set aside into the casserole where the vegetables were cooked and keep there until ready to serve.

7. In a preheated pan with the olive oil, sauté the chopped onions and garlic. Add the drained vegetables. Remove vegetables to a platter.

8. Remove the chorizos, brisket and bacon slab from the casserole. Slice into serving sizes. Set aside.

9. When the beef shank is fork-tender, remove from pot with a strainer. Place in a serving platter and put back its marrow.

10. Cut the brisket, pork belly, chicken breast, salted pork/ ham hock into serving pieces and arrange on the platter together with the shank; likewise with the vegetables. Accompany with tomato sauce and berenjena (eggplant) sauce placed in separate bowls.

Cocido tomato sauce:

Ingredients: 1 pc small onion, peel and chop finely; 2 cloves, garlic, crush, peel and mince; 1/2 kilo tomatoes, blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, peel when cooled, cut into halves crosswise to remove seeds and then chop finely; 4 tbsps. olive oil; 1 pc bay leaf; 1 sprig parsley; 1/2 cup water; salt and pepper to taste.

Procedure:

1. In a preheated pan with olive oil, sauté onions and garlic, then add tomatoes. Add bay leaf and sprig of parsley and the water. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Discard bay leaf and parsley sprig.

3. Add salt and pepper according to taste. 

Berenjena (eggplant sauce):

Ingredients: 2 pcs long eggplants, roast over stove flame till skin is charred, peel and discard peel; 2 cloves garlic, peel then mince; 2 tbsps. vinegar; 2 tsps. salt; 1 tsp. pepper.

Procedure: Mash broiled eggplants and add minced garlic and vinegar. Add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.