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 Mechado (stew variant) | |
| Course | Main course |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Philippines |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Beef,soy sauce,calamansi,black pepper,onions |
| Variations | Beef tongue |
Mechado is abraisedbeef dish originating from thePhilippines inspired by the Mexican dish calledMenudo which the Filipinos adopted during the colonial period.Soy sauce andcalamansi fruits are key ingredients in the braising liquid.
The namemechado is derived from the Spanish verbmechar, meaning "to stuff" or, in this case, "tolard", i. e., inserting strips offatback into the pieces of beef.[1] The term was adopted asmitsa in accordance withFilipino orthographic conventions, though the spellingmitsado for the dish is unorthodox and rarely seen.
The traditional version of the dish is done by inserting strips of pork fatback into thick cuts of inexpensive beef (specifically thechuck) to provide both succulence and flavor. The larded beef is then marinated in soy sauce, calamansi, andblack pepper. They are then quickly browned on all sides in hot oil and thenbraised in the marinade with the addition ofbeef broth,onions, andbay leaves until tender, the liquid reducing to a thickgravy.Fish sauce is often added during the braise as seasoning. The dish can be cooked in tomato sauce in a clay pot.[2]
Over the years, the name of the dish has increasingly come to encompass variations that use thinner slices or even bony cuts of beef and that have dispensed with the larding process altogether. Newer variations of the dish resemble more like abeef stew. A popular incarnation ofmechado features tomatoes predominantly in the braising liquid, as well as cuts of potatoes.
TheBeef tongue can be similarly treated with little or no variation to produce another dish calledlengua mechada.
