POCHERO. The most familiar recipes are the ones stewed with tomatoes (or tomato sauce) or the Cebu variant which is like bulalo or nilaga, but the pochero I grew up with is just very simple.
It's just pork cooked with potatoes and/or saba (cooking banana) with kamote tops or pechay. I just love the mild sweetness of the broth brought about by the bananas to the savory broth.
Or sometimes, it tends lean more of the tomato based recipe, just without the tomato itself or sauce.
The recipe is just very simple - just boil the pork first until tender. Add the "hard" veggies like potatoes, saba, carrots, etc then finally when the leafy veggies when its almost done. Just season it with salt or broth cubes for a savory broth.
Here's a recipe guide for a simple Pochero Ilonggo
Ingredients
- 3/4 kilo pork with fat intact
- 5 saba, halved
- 4 medium potatoes, quartered
- 1 cabbage, "peeled"
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Broth cubes, optional, according to taste
How to make Pochero Ilonggo
- Boil pork until tender. Remove accumulated scum on the water's surface (slow boil)
- Add potatoes and saba. Cook until tender.
- Season according to taste using salt, pepper, broth cubes. Adjust water.
- Finally, add cabbage and simmer until cooked.
The measurements are just guides in this recipe. And you can cook according to your taste. You may also add/combine carrots, Baguio beans, strings beamns, sayote, bellpeppers plus use pechay, wombok or kamote tops. This is a very versatile recipe that you can cook using ingredients in the fridge or pantry. Enjoy!