Mechado

Mechado is a Filipino tomato-based stew. Vanjo Merano’s selected beef version uses cubed chuck with potatoes, soy sauce, bay leaves and lemon rind, which gives the tomato sauce an extra citrus note.

Garlic and sliced onion sauté in cooking oil before the cubed beef is added. The meat cooks until lightly browned, then tomato sauce and water begin the long simmer that tenderizes it.

Extra water can keep the sauce from drying while the beef cooks. Soy sauce, ground black pepper, lemon rind, bay leaves and salt are then added as the excess liquid reduces.

Sliced potato enters after this reduction and cooks until soft. The finished beef-and-potato stew is transferred to a serving plate and served hot with rice.

This version brings potatoes and tender beef together in a reduced tomato sauce. Its soy sauce and citrus seasoning give it a different character from the author’s liver-spread kaldereta, while the rice accompanies the stew separately.