This Chicken Pochero recipe includes chicken, saba bananas, chorizo, chickpeas, and a bunch of vegetables all simmered together in a tomato-based sauce. It's a hearty and flavorful dish that's perfect for a comforting dinner any night of the week.
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What is Pochero?
Pochero, also called "puchero", is a Filipino stew with meat (such as pork or chicken), vegetables, chorizo, and saba bananas. It has a robust yet light tomato broth, cooked with garlic, onions, and bay leaves.
This Chicken Pochero recipe is a variation of the more traditional Pork Pochero.
Ingredients you'll need
Notes and substitutions
- Chicken: I used chicken thighs and legs, which remain juicy throughout cooking. You can also use any bone-in cut, with or without the skin. Avoid chicken breast, as it tends to dry out easily when slow-cooked or stewed. You can always use another protein like pork or beef.
- Chorizo de Bilbao: This is a flavorful Spanish sausage with its rich and spicy notes. If you don't have it, feel free to use another hard or cured chorizo, or even smoked sausage.
- Tomato Paste: A thick, concentrated tomato product that packs a lot of flavor. If you don't have any on hand, you can easily swap it with tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes-just cut back on the water in your recipe.
- Vegetables: I used chickpeas, carrots, yardlong beans, bokchoy, and cabbage. You can use any vegetables you like or have on hand. Peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, pechay, and chayote are all great options.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Prepare the chicken
Cut off any extra fat from the chicken. Give it a good sprinkle of salt on both sides and then set it aside.
Step 2: Sear the bananas and carrots
Heat a bit of oil in a 4.5-quart heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Quickly sear the saba bananas on both sides-just enough to brown them without turning them mushy. Move them to a plate.
Next, give the carrots a quick sear until they're lightly browned on both sides, then transfer them to the plate as well.
Step 3: Sear the chicken
Add more oil if needed. Start searing the chicken skin-side down first, until it's lightly browned all around. Do this in batches to make sure each piece gets a nice crust. Once done, transfer them to a plate.
PRO TIP: For the best Pochero, sear the chicken and other ingredients like the vegetables and chorizo. This extra step helps lock in flavors for a deeper and more savory stew.
Step 4: Sear the chorizo
Quickly sear the chorizo slices for about a minute to bring out their flavors. Once lightly browned, transfer to a plate.
Step 5: Sauté the aromatics
Add a bit more oil if it's needed and turn the heat down to medium. Then sauté the onion and garlic until they're nice and soft.
Step 6: Sauté the tomato paste
Add the tomato paste and cook until it caramelizes and turns darker, which will make your dish richer and more flavorful.
Step 7: Add the liquid and seasonings
Pour in 2½ to 3 cups of water, depending on how thick or soupy you prefer the stew. Add 2 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons chicken base or bouillon, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, and some ground pepper.
Mix everything well, scraping up the fond (the browned bits) from the bottom of the pot for that extra flavor. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
Step 8: Simmer the chicken
Once it starts boiling, add the chicken back into the pot. Cover it and let it simmer on medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.
Step 9: Add more ingredients
Add the chorizo, carrots, and chickpeas to the pot. Let everything cook together for about 10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
Step 10: Add the bananas and greens
Toss in the bananas, yardlong beans, bok choy, and cabbage. Cover the pot and cook everything for about 5 minutes, just until the veggies start to soften. Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, then turn off the heat.
Serve your Chicken Pochero with steamed rice and enjoy! Store the leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator, or freeze to extend their shelf life.
Recipe FAQs
Pochero, which comes from the Spanish word "puchero," is a Filipino stew inspired by Spanish cooking. It's become a staple in Filipino cuisine. Traditionally made with beef, it's also commonly prepared with chicken or pork. In the Tagalog version, the meat simmers alongside saba bananas, a variety of vegetables, chorizo, and chickpeas in a flavorful tomato broth.
Visayan Pochero, known as Pocherong Bisaya, stands out because it doesn't use tomatoes or tomato sauce like the Tagalog version does. This version has pork in a clear broth similar to Bulalo and includes saba bananas. Sometimes, lemongrass is added to give it a fragrant kick. While Visayan Pochero often uses pork and occasionally beef, Bulalo uses beef shank with its flavorful marrow.
Absolutely! Chicken Pochero often tastes better the next day because the flavors have more time to blend together. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge, and heat it up when you're ready to eat. Remember to add the greens when you reheat to keep them fresh and vibrant.
Spanish-inspired Filipino dishes
- Estofado: Pork or chicken braised with brown sugar, soy sauce, and fried saba bananas in a tomato sauce.
- Caldereta: A hearty stew made with meat (often beef or goat) and vegetables, simmered in tomato sauce and liver spread.
- Rellenong Manok (Stuffed Chicken): Deboned chicken marinated in soy sauce and calamansi, stuffed with ground meat, peas, and raisins.
- Rellenong Bangus (Stuffed Milkfish): Deboned milkfish stuffed with its own meat mixed with other ingredients, then baked or fried.
- Morcon: Beef or pork rolls filled with sausages, eggs, and pickles, braised in a tomato sauce.
- Embutido: Filipino-style meatloaf with ground pork, raisins, boiled eggs, and sausages.
- Paella: Spanish rice dish with saffron, mixed meats like chicken and chorizo, seafood, and vegetables, cooked in a wide, shallow pan.
Other chicken recipes you may like
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📖 Recipe
Chicken Pochero
Equipment
- 4.5-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot
Ingredients
- 2-2½ pounds bone-in chicken (3 legs and 3 thighs) see note
- 2-3 ripe saba bananas (saging na saba) cut into large chunks; sub: plantains
- 1 small carrot cut into large chunks; see note
- 2 chorizo de Bilbao cut into bite-sized pieces; see note
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic minced
- ⅓ cup tomato paste see note
- 2½-3 cups water sub: chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons chicken base or bouillon
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon sugar adjust to taste
- 1 cup chickpeas or garbanzo beans drained
- A bunch of yardlong beans or green beans cut into 2" sections; see note
- A bunch pechay or bok choy ends trimmed and leaves separated; see note
- ½ small cabbage cut into wedges or chunks; see note
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Neutral oil (for searing and sautéing)
Instructions
- Trim any excess fat from the chicken. Season generously with salt on both sides. Set aside.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a pot. Briefly sear the bananas on both sides, making sure they don't become mushy. Transfer them to a plate.
- Next, lightly brown the carrots on both sides. Transfer them to a plate.
- Add more oil, if needed. Sear the chicken, with its skin side down first, until lightly browned. Work in batches to achieve a nice crust, then transfer them to a plate.
- Quickly sear the chorizo slices for about a minute to bring out their flavors. Once lightly browned, transfer to a plate.
- Add more oil if needed and reduce to medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until softened.
- Add the tomato paste and cook until it caramelizes and turns darker.
- Pour in 2½ to 3 cups of water, depending on how thick or soupy you prefer the stew. Add the bay leaves, chicken base or bouillon, fish sauce, sugar, and some ground pepper.
- Mix everything well, scraping up the fond (the browned bits) from the bottom of the pot for that extra flavor. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once the mixture is boiling, add the chicken back. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes or until tender.
- Add the chorizo, carrots, and chickpeas. Let them cook for another 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Add the bananas, yardlong beans, bok choy, and cabbage. Cover and cook for 5 minutes to allow them to soften slightly. Taste and adjust as necessary, then turn off the heat.
Notes
- Chicken: I used chicken thighs and legs, which remain juicy throughout cooking. You can also use any bone-in cut, with or without the skin. Avoid chicken breast, as it tends to dry out easily when slow-cooked or stewed. You can always use another protein like pork or beef.
- Chorizo de Bilbao: This is a flavorful Spanish sausage with rich and spicy notes. Substitute it with another hard or cured chorizo or even smoked sausage.
- Tomato Paste: A thick, concentrated form of tomatoes that adds a rich tomato flavor. You can substitute it with tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes and reduce the water specified in the recipe.
- Vegetables: I used chick peas, carrots, yardlong beans, bok choy, and cabbage. You can use any vegetables you like or have on hand. Peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, pechay, and chayote are all great options.
Elaine says
This looks delicious but I noticed how Filipino stews are so similar.
Nora Reyes says
Hi Elaine! I totally get where you're coming from! Filipino stews do have some similarities, but each one has its own distinct flavors and ingredients that make it special. Which one(s) is your favorite?