Pork Guisantes

Pork Guisantes. My comfort food… one of many actually.

Tomatoes are commonly used in Filipino cooking, so is tomato sauce. I personally love Filipino dishes/stews that have tomato sauce and one of my favorite to eat is Pork Guisantes. It is simple, home-cooked food that is easy to make. The dish delivers a lot of flavor with only a few ingredients needed, making this recipe budget friendly. Cooking starts of with sauteing garlic and onions, then the pork and green peas are simmered in tomato sauce. This saucy, savory-with-a-hint-of-sweet, delicious dish is served with a side of rice.

Happy Harvest Tomato Sauce and Green Peas

Guisantes is Spanish for Peas and I assumed the use of tomato sauce is indicative of the dish’s Spanish influence. However, I’ve recently found out that tomato sauce is rarely and sparingly used in Spanish cooking. The Philippine’s hot climate might be an ideal environment for tomatoes to grow. Canning tomatoes however, was not common.

Yikes….I am entering into food history geekdom.

Pork Guisantes

Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2 1/4 pound country style pork ribs, cut into bite sized strips
2 small cans tomato sauce (8 ounce each)
15 ounce can green peas or two cups (cooked) frozen green peas
1 cup of water or broth
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced thinly (optional)
1-2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tsp pepper or according to taste

Tip:

• Fish Sauce is milder than Salt, if substituting salt for fish sauce, measure according to taste.
• Use the empty tomato sauce can to measure the water/broth to dilute sauce left over in can
• Cook Pork in it’s own juices until reduced before adding tomato sauce (see picture below)

Country Style Ribs from ALDI cut into bite size pieces

Directions:
1. Saute garlic on medium heat for about 2 minutes.
2. Add onions and saute until translucent
3. Add pork and cook for about 30 minutes, stir often for even cooking
4. Add tomato sauce, bring to a boil then simmer on low for 30 minutes, mix occasionally
5. Add green peas, mix and simmer for 10 minutes

Serve with a side of steamed rice.

Enjoy!