Afritada chicken

Afritada chicken is a traditional filipino dish I discovered browsing the internet to find new way to accommodate chicken. I used this recipe. I was thrilled with how it came out, we had a blast eating this meal. The sauce thickens and gets really tasty, vegetables keep their lovely texture and the meat is fork tender.

It is a bit long to make because you need to pre-cook all the vegetables first but once this step is done, it is all cooking on its own and it smells amazing in the house.

Afritada chicken (serves 6) :
- 6 chicken thighs
- 2 potatoes
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1/2 green bell pepper
- 1 large onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (400g)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc-mam)
- 80g (1/2 cup) sweet peas
- 25cl (1 cup) water
- Vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper
Peel the potatoes and carrots.
Slice the carrot and quarter the potatoes.
Cut the bell peppers in thicks strips.
Mince the onion and crush the garlic.
In a deep frying pan, add a few tbsp of oil and heat it.
Add the potatoes and carrots. Let it fry a few minutes stirring occasionally.
When colored, drain with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the bell peppers for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Pour the oil from the pan in a bowl (do not clean the pan), and fry the chicken for 7 minutes on each side.
Add the onion and garlic in the pan. Stir gently.
Add the crushed tomatoes, fish sauce and water. Bring it all to a boil.
When it comes to a boil, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the potatoes and carrots, cook until potatoes are tender.
Add the bell peppers and sweet peas. Season well.
Let it cook for 2 minutes and serve over warm fluffy rice.