Kalitiran with Mushroom Gravy

Rice! My favorite source of carbs in the whole wide world of food! You can take away all kinds of carbs and starch from me, just don't take rice away! I can even eat rice with salt alone, or when I was a child, I used to eat rice with Knorr seasoning or rice with bagoong.

I believe that my love for rice is the reason why I love cooking stews. Saucy stews! From the Spanish cocido, fabada and lentejas, to the Filipino adobo, kare kare and kaldereta, to the French bouillabaisse, pot-au-feu and boeuf bourguignon...the list goes on and on with the endless possibilities of what stew to make and eat with rice!

Today, I felt like making stew! I had a 1.2 kilo piece of oyster blade (kalitiran) in my freezer. It is taken from the shoulder blade of the cow that is rich in connective tissue and a lot of fat marbling. You can use it to replace ox tongue. 

Kevin loves a creamy mushroom sauce, so I decided to experiment a little bit on this one. I came up with a sauce so rich and creamy, that you would need a whole tub of rice to eat with it!

Marinate all together in the fridge overnight. If you don't have the luxury to do so, marinating for an hour or two is fine.

1.2 kilos kalitiran or oyster blade, whole

oyster sauce

laurel leaves

black pepper, freshly ground

After marinating, drain the sauce and coat the whole piece of beef in flour. Heat olive oil in a heavy pot then sear the meat on all sides. 

When brown, add the following to the pot:

2 cups of mushroom broth (beef broth is ok)

2 laurel leaves

black peppercorns

Let it simmer and cook until the beef is very tender. Remove the beef and set aside until it is cool. When it is cool, put it in the fridge and forget about until the next day!

Now, for the sauce!

Add two cans of cream of mushroom to the remaining stock that you used to boil the kalitiran. Add whole mushrooms, carrots and potatoes.

 When the vegetables are cooked, thicken the sauce just enough to coat the back of a spoon and adjust the seasonings.

When ready to serve, slice the kalitiran in very thin slices. This is why I told you to refrigerate it overnight, it makes for easier slicing. Mix with the sauce, heat and serve. With LOTS of rice!

Enjoy!!!