What makes my Pork Afritada special?

Yesterday, I wanted to cook something special for my husband, as I haven't cooked for him since I came back from the Philippines earlier this week. So as I was looking in our fridge, I was thinking "Pork Afritada" with a twist! I was thinking to add "Malunggay (Moringa Oleifera)" that I brought with me from the Philippines. If you don't know what that is, Malunggay is known as a very nutritious plant, and they also call it the "Miracle Tree" primarily for the various health benefits . I want my husband to try it, so without further a do, let's talk about how I cooked my Pork Afritada.

Ingredients:

Pork Belly

Hot Dogs

Potatoes (cut into chunks)

Carrots

Bell Pepper

Onions

Garlic

Bay Leaves (optional)

Star Anise (optional)

Tomato Sauce

Salt & Pepper

Knorr Cubes, pork

Demerara or Brown Sugar - (optional)

Tomato Ketchup (optional)

Okay, first I reheated the oil in the pan and stir fried the pork belly until it was slightly brown. Then I added the garlic, onion, knorr cubes and bay leaves. Stir them for couple of minutes then add the tomato sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes. Then add potatoes and carrots. Add water until it covered the potatoes and carrots. You don't need a lot of water, just enough to simmer the vegetables, let's say for ten to fifteen minutes. Then after that, add the bell pepper; Star Anise to make it more aromatic. It smells good.. Then simmered it again for five minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the hotdogs and salt & pepper. Now, I like my Afritada to have a little sweetness in it. So, sugar and tomato ketchup is beneficial for me. You only need 1 teaspoon of sugar and just a little tomato ketchup to balance the flavour. Then if you don't want any sweetness, just skip this step. Once you're happy with the seasonings. Simmer it for two minutes then it's ready to serve.

However, I'm not stopping there. I wanted to add the Malunggay leaves to give it more twist and make it more healthier. If you don't have Malunggay obviously just skip this step. To be honest you can't tell the difference with or without Malunggay. I just wanted to add more nutrients with my Afritada that's all.

This is what Malunggay looks like.. it's full of vitamins and nutrients.. Just add this at last minute. And simmer it for 60 seconds or so and Voila! Pork Afritada is ready to serve with rice..

Here it is.. Looks yummy! Hubby had two plates of this.. He loves it!! Bon Appétit! x

#afritada #filipinofood #pork