Chicken soup a la picadillo
Don’t confuse Filipino-style picadillo with the Mexican and Cuban picadillo which is a ground beef stew. The Philippine version of the Cuban picadillo is arroz a la Cubana.
Picadillo in the Philippines is a soup with small pieces of beef. My father made his with potato cubes; my mother-in-law’s version has chayote. My version has carrot, potato and chayote cubes. How that happened is related in one of the earliest entries in this blog where you will also find an explanation as to why I call the dish Speedy’s picadillo.
This entry is about substituting cubes of chicken thigh fillets for the beef. But because you can’t make a good broth with chicken meat alone, bones being essential for making a rich broth, I cooked this dish using the broth made with scrap beef bones, cooked a day ahead.
Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients:
10 chicken thigh fillets
1 whole garlic
1 large onion
4-6 plump and juicy tomatoes
1 large chayote
1 large carrot
3-4 potatoes
8 c. of broth
salt
pepper
2 tbsps. of vegetable cooking oil
Cooking procedure:
Cut the chicken thigh fillets into one-inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper.
Crush, peel and finely mince the garlic.
Peel and finely slice the onion.
Dice the tomatoes.
Peel the chayote, cut off the core (all the white fibrous part at the center). Cut into one-inch cubes.
Peel the carrot and potatoes. Cut into one-inch cubes as well.
Heat the cooking oil. Add the chicken cubes and cook until they change color. Add the garlic, onion and tomatoes; cook until soft.
Pour in the broth. Bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.
Now, we add the vegetables — the one that takes longest to cook goes in first. That way, by the end of cooking time, the vegetables will be uniformly done but none of them will be overcooked nor undercooked. Add the chayote cubes first. Stir. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the carrot cubes next, stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Finally, add the potato cubes, stir and simmer for another 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings because the potatoes will absorb most of the salt.
Serve hot.
Note: As with many boiled and and vegetables soup, this dish is best served right after cooking. Reheating makes the vegetables soggy so I suggest cooking just enough for a single meal.
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2 Responses to “Chicken soup a la picadillo”
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My mom makes her picadillo with meatballs (pork) and lots of potatoes. This was one of the first solid foods ever given to the babies in the family because you could mash everything together.
Wow, I almost forgot this dish. Gives me the appetite to do it tonight, and for my hubby’s baon. Nauubusan na ako ng idea for his soup eh. This will really be great. I’ll just make the cuts of veggies a little smaller, kasi ganon ang preference niya, Thanks Ms Connie.