Cooking Pork Mechado

Let's cook pork mechado, shall we? It's an easy home-cooking recipe that's your family will truly enjoy.

I grew up in the Philippines where cooking pork mechado is done in large gatherings. It is often in the menu of local restaurants. I suppose it is one of the Filipino tasty dishes that is only cooked during special occasions.

When I learned this recipe however, I knew I don't need to go to a restaurant just to enjoy it. Pork mechado is especially easy to cook these days since there are ready made mixes that we simply put into the dish when cooking.

In this post however, I'll share with you how to cook pork mechado, with and without such ready mixes. Read on to get my full recipe of cooking pork mechado.

Ingredients in cooking pork mechado:
- garlic, chopped
- onions, chopped

- pork loin, cut in desirable size

- mushrooms, chopped (fresh or canned)
- green bell peppers, julienne-d
- carrots, cut into cubes

- potatoes, cut into cubes

- green peas, canned

- tomato sauce or mechado sauce
 - fish sauce
- soy sauce (if not using a store-bought mechado sauce)
- pepper
- pork broth (optional but preferred)
- cooking oil
- hot water

Steps in cooking pork mechado:
1. Saute' a portion of the garlic in a very hot pan.
2. When the garlic turns golden, fry the pork.

Scoop out the fats that the pork will release. Those are saturated fats that are not good for the heart. It's your call, of course if you want to leave them be. After all, this is a mechado recipe. (It's supposed to be fatty.)

3. When the pork is cooked, set aside in a dry bowl.
4. Season the pork with fish sauce and pepper as it sits.

5. Pour another set of cooking oil in the same pan.
6. Saute' the rest of the garlic.
7. Fry the carrots.

8. Add the potatoes. Mix well.

9. Add the onions. Mix well.

10. Season with fish sauce; and await for the onions to cook.
11. Add in the seasoned pork, mushrooms, green peas and bell pepper into the dish.

12. Add in the tomato sauce or the mechado sauce. Mix well.

If you are using plain tomato sauce, use more chopped onions and garlic to add flavor into the dish. You may also add the pork broth at this point. Ready mix pork mechado sauces tend to have seasonings and artificial flavors which make the dish more tasty to the buds. You will also need a bit of soy sauce to create that mechado flavor.

13. Turn the heat to medium-low.
14. Cover the pan and let the pork mixture boil.

15. Allow the dish to boil under low heat.
16. Let it simmer so that flavors blend well together.
17. Season with further fish sauce and pepper as desired.
18. Serve with hot rice.

Don't worry about left-overs. Just like pork adobo, this pork mechado recipe grows tastier in time. It can stay in the fridge for days without going bad.

That's it! Easy, right?

You may also enjoy Cooking Pork Bolognese. It's a pasta recipe with an almost similar ingredients as pork mechado.

In summary:

Pork Mechado (Filipino recipe)

5/5 stars

Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 10-40 minutes

Ingredients

• Garlic
• Onions
• Pork loin
• Mushrooms
• Green bell peppers
• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Green peas
• Tomato sauce or "mechado" sauce
• Fish sauce
• Pepper
• Pork broth
• Cooking oil
• Hot water

Cooking Directions

1. Saute' some of the garlic in a pan.
2. Cook the pork with the garlic. Set aside after cooking.
3. Season the pork with fish sauce and pepper. (Can be done after or while frying the pork)
4. Saute' the remaining garlic.
5. Fry the carrots.
6. Add the potatoes.
7. Add the onions.
8. Season the dish with fish sauce.
9. When the vegetables are all cooked, add the pork, green peas, bell peppers and mushrooms.
10. Let it simmer under low heat.
11. Add the tomato sauce or mechado sauce.
12. Let the dish simmer for 10-15 minutes.
13. Season with fish sauce and pepper.
14. Serve while hot.

Enjoy. Remember me when you cook!