Vegan Pochero Recipe

Growing up, I loved my mom’s version of Pochero. It had all kinds of vegetables like potatoes, carrots, cabbage, saba bananas, and meat, cooked in seasoning, aromatics, and broth. Because I missed it so much, I decided to veganize it.

Much to my surprise, it wasn’t that hard to veganize Pochero. After all, it’s already loaded with vegetables. All you need to veganize is the flavor and texture of the pork. For the texture, you could use tofu, seitan, even mushrooms. For the taste, a generous amount of oil and good quality vegetable broth will do the trick. Serve Pochero warm, preferably with a side of steamed rice. If you’re watching your health, you could use less oil and substitute rice with quinoa.

But then again, the vegan version is already healthier compared to the meat version because vegan Pochero has zero cholesterol and zero animal fat.

Whether you’re on a diet or not, vegan or not, I think you’d enjoy this dish and understand why Pochero was my beloved childhood favorite. Kain na, let’s eat!

Pochero Recipe

 

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Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed, and minced
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• ½ cup broccoli florets
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup firm tofu cubes
• 1 cup white button mushroom
• ½ small cabbage, chopped, core removed
• 1 bunch Chinese cabbage
• 2 saba bananas, peeled and sliced into chunks
• ¼ cup seitan or meat alternative (optional)

Instructions

1. Saute garlic, onions, and tomatoes with oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat.
2. Add potatoes and vegetable broth. Cover pot and simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. Add carrots and broccoli and simmer for another 5 minutes.
4. On a pan, fry tofu with oil over high heat. You may do this while the pot is simmering, or while preparing the ingredients beforehand.
5. Put pot to a boil then add mushroom, tofu, saba banana, cabbage, Chinese cabbage and seitan.
6. Once cabbage has softened, turn off heat and serve hot, preferably with steamed rice.

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