Chicken Pochero

Are you asking me whether Wonder Woman cooks? Don't! I have no idea. I wasn't her maker but If I were - I'd write that she does. I titled this that ... because I got the impression of - it would be a "wonder" if I could pull off producing the same taste using only natural food and no processed food and so ... this dish is one of my cooking experiments plus one more reason - you'll get to know if you'd be patient enough reading on.

My favorite Filipino dish is Pochero. If you've clicked on the blued pochero then you know - it's normally cooked with red meat. I don't eat read meat so I chose to use chicken legs instead - why? I love chicken legs more than chicken breast. Pochero's cooked with lotz a' processed food. I learned cooking that from father and it's very easy to cook pochero following the modern process - there's canned chick peas,white sugar and sweet tomato sauce involved in the cooking.

This time, I tried it using only natural food - totally no processed food - like going back to the basic - is it possible to achieve the exact same taste of the Pinoy Pochero cooking it the old fashion way? I named it Wonder Woman's Chicken Pochero not because she cooked it, I'm no Wonder Woman - though I grew up watching Justice League every afternoon after school and loved her there. Wonder Woman has been here for quite some time ain't she? One of her versions date back from the Greek Mythical god - Zeus. That time, there were still no factories ain't it? Therefore - no processed food. I think ... she to ... must be cooking food the old fashioned way. So there.

What do we need?

Banana and pear? Yes, you read it right. To make pochero we use banana - a certain banana called "saba". That and the tomato gives the taste you want to achieve when you make a pochero. What's saba? It's a kind of a Philippine banana that's pretty hard and we boil the ripe ones and that taste freaking delicious - we eat boiled saba for breakfast or as a snack. In the Philippines, unless you grew up in the city - our common snack is mostly made of - natural food - not processed. We munched on boiled saba or boiled sweet potatoes, purple yam ~~ ... just boiled - so don't be shocked why we most of us are petite. We normally just eat till we are full. It's like that in the whole Asia - we eat till we are full. We chew our food very well.

Why the pear? I need a sweetener and though I could use honey, since I've been using pear as a meat tenderizer and knowing that ... at the same time, it actually works as a natural sweetener I've decided to use it instead of honey. I'm experimenting on using just natural food so - I've decided to use a fruit as as my sugar plus if you have seen my previous recipe posts (check links below) then you know I never used bleached sugar. Can you eat bleach? If your answer is no then you already know why you don't see me using bleached or white sugar or that semi bleached - brown, light brown sugar. Yes, they are all bleached. In fact, just try not taking white sugar for a week or two. Then try to take a pinch of it and let it stay in your tongue and melt there - and you'll smell that bleach. If you do - and even if this post get all buried by any other post, do tell me whether - you did smell it or not.

My health is my number one asset.

That, I'm very much convinced of when my mother died of anurism which I suspect she suffered from eating burger on a daily basis. Long story and would rather not tackle that. I almost suffered from burn out from doing so many things since I am not used to just sitting around in July to September last year. That time, I really had to slow down because I couldn't do the normal things I love if I don't.. the more I realized how important it is to stay fit as a fiddle.

My health is my number one asset, therefore I must invest the best to it. No financial wealth can buy a healthy body - it could only buy us healthy food and support a healthy lifestyle so since my health is my biggest asset, therefore I value it more than any other assets that I have since it's my access to doing everything I am passionate about. I would like to be able to spend everyday being able to do at least one or two of those freely. With burnout - you won't be able to do anything so I really slowed down that time and still practicing slowing down till now.

It's hard breaking a habit but its possible to get off it. To cut the story short, this is the mentality that I've acquired when it comes to taking in food. I try to avoid white sugar - avoid because I still eat out and I can't always monitor what's being put in my food. Most of the time, I ask for honey and use honey but this time, I've experimented on using the sweetness of a pear knowing that it works well with meat.

How did I cook the freaking Wonder Woman's Chicken Pochero then? Pretty easy ... here's how:

I already wanted to eat just this cause it taste freaking yum but I won't be able to find out whether I can make a pochero out of using just natural ingredients so I spared it.

What does it taste like you asked? Like a pochero - without the artificial red - orange coloring, without the sugar nor the saba. The sweetness of the banana and pear blended and it leaves that banana after taste I am after at the same time ... that light acidity of the tomatoes. In fact, it doesn't leave that thick feel in your tongue when you eat it because there is also no Mono Sodium Glutamate added in the dish. Yes, most of the sauces have MSG in it. It makes your tongue feel dry after eating something that has it. This one does not - not at all.

If you would want to reduce the sauce it's possible by straining it and just serving the reduced sauce. I'm after those pear fibers (they help you lay eggs in the bathroom) so I didn't bother reducing it.

Problem: Is it possible to cook a dish and achieve exactly the same taste without using processed food?

Hypothesis: It was possible in the old times the more it can be done in our time - haven't we all evolved? Therefore, yes, I think - it is possible.

Conclusion : Yes, it is. It sure doesn't have that red orange color of a pochero proving that pure tomato sauce doesn't have the same color of that of in a can, glass or sachets but ... it sure has the very same taste with no health hazards involved in the ingredients.

Can you pull off a delicious dish using only natural ingredients? You'll never know unless you do it! Dare?

I took all the pics using a Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 edition.



Find the rest of my recipe articles both in English and Dutch here:











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