Chicken Afritada is a one-pot, comforting stew. Potatoes, vegetables, and an Asian-inspired tomato broth make is especially memorable.
I’m a fan of all forms of chicken stew: the classic comforting version with simple ingredients, the Asian twist with rice noodles and cilantro, the Jewish version with matzoh. It’s all good. A pot of chicken and vegetables cooking in broth on the stove is universally appealing. I’ll take a comforting bowl of chicken stew any way I can get it.
This version, Chicken Afritada, is new to me. I was instantly attracted to the stew because I love the acidity of a tomato based broth with creamy, melting potatoes. Add in chunks of marinated chicken, and I think I just found my new favorite pot of chicken stew to keep on the stove.
Chicken afritada is a Filipino dish made with chicken, potatoes, and peppers simmered in a tomato broth. The tomato broth has a hit of extra flavor from soy sauce and fish sauce. If you’re not a fan of fish sauce, a good substitute is Worcestershire sauce.
You can make chicken afritada with any type of chicken. The most flavorful pot of stew comes from using raw chicken marinated in a bit of soy sauce before cooking. The brown bits on the bottom of the pan get into the broth when you add the tomato paste and chicken broth. However, I’ve been known to use leftover grilled chicken or even rotisseries chicken when I’m short on time.
The recommended cooking time for this stew is at least one hour on the stove, because at this point, the potatoes start to melt and dissolve into the broth. The melted potatoes thicken the broth. If you’re in a rush, you could just simmer the stew until the potatoes are cooked through, which is about 20 minutes. The longer the pot stays at a very low bubble on the stove, the better.
Serve Christina’s chicken afritada with a healthy strawberry spinach salad and some copycat red lobster biscuits for an amazing dinner.
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Chicken Afritada Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large Chicken Breast Chopped
- 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce Divided
- 1 tablespoon Canola Oil
- 1 medium Onion Diced
- 2 cloves Garlic Minced
- 2 medium Baking Potato Peeled and diced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 3 Carrot Peeled and sliced
- 3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce Or Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 2 Bay Leaf
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Frozen Peas
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the chicken and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Let marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Alternatively, you could use leftover or store bought chicken and skip this step.
- Next, heat the oil in a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, potatoes, pepper, and carrots. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the onions have some color on them. Next, add the tomato paste and cook until it turns a darker rust color. Stir frequently.
- Add the chicken broth, remaining 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.
- Just before serving, stir in peas. Heat through before serving. Remove bay leaves before serving.