Chicken pochero is a Filipino chicken stew with saba bananas, chorizo, chickpeas, and vegetables cooked in a tomato-based sauce.
Also called puchero, this chicken version is hearty and delicious!
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Ingredients You'll Need
Notes and Substitutions
- Chicken: I used chicken thighs and legs because they stay juicy. Any bone-in cut will work, with or without the skin.
- Chorizo de Bilbao: This adds a smoky, savory flavor to the stew. If you can't find it, use any chorizo, sausage, or even hotdogs.
- Tomato paste: This is thick and concentrated, so it adds more tomato flavor. You can use tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes instead, but add less water.
- Vegetables: I used chickpeas, carrots, yardlong beans, bok choy, and cabbage. You can also use potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, pechay, chayote , or peas.
How to Make Chicken Pochero (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Prepare the chicken
Trim excess fat from 2 pounds chicken, then season both sides with salt. Set aside.
Step 2: Brown the bananas and carrots
Heat a little oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.
Lightly brown 2-3 ripe saba bananas (cut into chunks), then set aside.
Lightly brown 1 medium carrot (cut into chunks), then set aside.
Step 3: Sear the chicken
Place the chicken skin-side down and sear until lightly browned. Add more oil if needed.
Cook in batches so the pieces brown well, then set aside.
Step 4: Sear the chorizo
Sear 2 chorizo de Bilbao (sliced) for about a minute, just until lightly browned. Set aside.
Step 5: Sauté the aromatics
Add more oil if needed and reduce the heat to medium.
Sauté 1 medium onion (chopped) and 6 garlic cloves (minced) until softened and caramelized.
Step 6: Sauté the tomato paste
Add ⅓ cup tomato paste. Cook until it caramelizes and darkens slightly.
Step 7: Add the sauce and seasonings
Pour in 2½ to 3 cups of water, depending on how saucy you want it.
Then, add:
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons chicken base (or bouillon)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ground pepper (to taste)
Mix and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil.
Step 8: Simmer the chicken
Add the chicken back to the pot.
Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.
Step 9: Add the chorizo, carrots, and chickpeas
Add the chorizo, carrots, and 1 cup chickpeas.
Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
Step 10: Add the bananas and greens
Add the saba bananas, yardlong beans, bok choy, and cabbage.
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, just until the vegetables soften.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, then turn off the heat.
Serve your chicken pochero hot with steamed rice and enjoy!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, or freeze for longer storage.
Cooking Tips
- Lightly brown the chicken, chorizo, and vegetables for more flavor.
- Sear in batches so they brown instead of steam.
- Cook the tomato paste until slightly darker for better flavor.
- Add the vegetables last so they stay tender and don't get mushy.
Recipe FAQs
Pochero, or puchero, is a Filipino stew with meat, vegetables, chorizo, and saba bananas in a light tomato-based sauce.
Pochero usually has saba bananas, chickpeas, chorizo, and more vegetables. Afritada is simpler and usually made with potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers.
Yes. It keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days, and the flavor gets better as it sits.
More Spanish-Inspired Filipino Dishes
- Estofado: Pork or chicken braised with soy sauce, sugar, and saba bananas.
- Caldereta: Meat and vegetables cooked in tomato sauce with liver spread.
- Rellenong manok: Deboned chicken stuffed with ground meat, peas, and raisins.
- Rellenong bangus: Stuffed milkfish baked or fried until golden.
- Morcon: Meat rolls filled with sausage, eggs, and pickles in tomato sauce.
- Embutido: Filipino meatloaf with ground pork, raisins, eggs, and sausage.
- Paella: Saffron rice with chicken, chorizo, seafood, and vegetables.
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📖 Recipe
Chicken Pochero Recipe
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed pot
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in chicken pieces
- 2 to 3 ripe saba bananas cut into chunks
- 1 medium carrot cut into chunks
- 2 chorizo de Bilbao sliced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- ⅓ cup tomato paste
- 2½ to 3 cups water (or chicken broth)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons chicken base or bouillon
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce to taste
- 1 tablespoon sugar to taste
- 1 cup chickpeas or garbanzo beans
- A bunch of yardlong beans or green beans cut into 2" sections
- A bunch pechay or bok choy halved if large
- ½ small cabbage cut into wedges
- Salt and pepper
- Neutral oil
Instructions
- Trim off excess fat from chicken. Season with salt and set aside.
- Lightly brown saba bananas and carrots; set aside.
- Sear chicken until lightly browned; set aside.
- Sear chorizo briefly; set aside.
- Sauté onion and garlic until softened.
- Add tomato paste and cook until darker.
- Add water, bay leaves, chicken base, fish sauce, sugar, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Return chicken to the pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add chorizo, carrots, and chickpeas; cook until carrots are tender.
- Add saba bananas, yardlong beans, bok choy, and cabbage. Cook until vegetables soften. Turn off the heat.
Notes
- Chicken: Thighs and legs stay juicy, but any bone-in cut works.
- Chorizo de Bilbao: Adds smoky, savory flavor. If you can't find it, use any chorizo, sausage, or even hotdogs.
- Tomato paste: Thick and concentrated, so it adds more tomato flavor. Use tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes with less water.
- Vegetables: I used chickpeas, carrots, yardlong beans, bok choy, and cabbage. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, pechay, chayote, or peas also work.
- Brown the chicken, chorizo, and vegetables for more flavor.
- Sear in batches so they don't steam.
- Brown the tomato paste for better flavor.
- Add vegetables last so they don't get mushy.
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?