Mechado (Filipino Beef Stew)
Comfort in the form of a hearty stew can be found in nearly every country’s cuisine, and the Philippines is no different. Mechado, Filipino Beef Stew, is the Philippine’s version of the ubiquitous comfort food with a wonderful depth of flavor that comes from browned garlic, marinated beef, and the complex flavors of patis, or fish sauce.
Mechado: There’s comfort food, and then there’s the kind of comfort that feels like home in a bowl. For me, that’s mechado — a rich Filipino beef stew with fork-tender meat, potatoes, carrots, and a tomato-based sauce that simmers low and slow until everything melts together. Flavor is layered in every step of the cooking process, making it flavorful and comforting! This is the kind of dish that fills the kitchen with warmth and aromatics long before it reaches the table.
Note: This post was originally published on September 20, 2015. The recipe has been updated from the archives with updated content and photographs, as well as improved kitchen notes and recipe annotation. I hope you enjoy this favorite from my kitchen.
Mechado: Filipino Beef Stew
Nearly every cuisine has its version of a hearty stew, and in the Philippines, mechado is one of the classics. What makes it special is the depth of flavor: browned garlic, marinated beef, bay leaves, tomato sauce, and a splash of patis (fish sauce) that brings everything into balance. It’s savory, slightly tangy, and deeply satisfying.
When I first started dating my husband, our mutual friend clued me in — he’s a “beef and potatoes man,” she said. I knew instantly that Mechado would be the first dish I’d cook for him. In my little apartment, on that tiny little stove, I impressed him with my ultimate stick-to-your-ribs comfort dish. It seemed very appropriate for that early autumn day in the Midwest. The flavors of the Filipino beef stew were comforting and familiar, no matter where you were from.
Years later, mechado still comes back into our dinner rotation whenever the weather cools. It’s my idea of cozy cooking — slow braising, simple ingredients, and the kind of meal that quietly restores you after a long day.
What Is Beef Mechado?
Mechado is a traditional Filipino beef stew influenced by colonial Spanish cooking. The name comes from the Spanish word “mecha;” translated to “wick,” it refers to a classic technique of larding, or inserting strips of pork fat into beef before braising. While modern home versions don’t always include this step, the essence of mechado stays the same: beef cooked slowly in a tomato-rich sauce until tender.
What sets mechado apart from other Filipino stews is its bright tomato base paired with savory umami notes from soy sauce and fish sauce. Potatoes and carrots absorb the sauce as they cook, turning the entire pot into something deeply comforting.
If you’re new to Filipino cooking, mechado is a wonderful place to start. The recipe is familiar enough to feel accessible to home cooks, yet distinctly Filipino in flavor.
What Are the Best Beef Cuts for Mechado?
For the most tender mechado, choose cuts of meat with marbling and connective tissue that break down during braising. In my opinion, the best cut of beef for mechado is beef chuck for stew. It is typically easy to find, relatively inexpensive, and always delicious.
Lean cuts of beef like shoulder and bottom round tend to dry out too much for this dish, so avoid anything labeled “extra lean.” Mechado thrives on slow cooking and a bit of natural fat.
How to Make Mechado
There are certain key elements that layer flavors in this delicious stew:
- First, the beef is marinated in dark soy sauce, lemon juice, and freshly ground pepper. Try to marinate it for 30 minutes, or, if you are pinched for time, while prepping the remaining ingredients. You can also marinate it overnight, if you wish. Some of the marinade will be used later.
- Brown garlic in oil and set aside. This adds a beautiful depth of flavor the oil, and to the stew overall when it is returned to the pot later in the cooking process. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
- Working in batches, brown the beef. Take care not to overcrowd the pot, or the beef will steam rather than brown.
- Return the browned beef to the pot, add the onions and fish sauce (known as patis, in the Philippines). The fish sauce adds a delicious salty umami to the dish.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, followed by the Tabasco, beef broth or stock, some of the reserved marinade, water, bay leaves, and bell pepper. This will be followed by the reserved garlic.
- Let time play its role: simmer the stew for 1 1/2 hours, or until the beef is tender.
- Add the potatoes and carrots, and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender. The starch from the potatoes will thicken the sauce.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
How to Serve Beef Mechado
Like many of the traditional dishes I ate growing up, we always serve mechado over rice. The rice absorbs the sauce, turning every bite into delicious comfort. But it’s equally satisfying as a stew on its own or with warm bread on the side.
Can You Make Beef Mechado Ahead of Time?
Like many stews, mechado improves with time. The flavors deepen overnight, making leftovers something to look forward to.
It’s an excellent dish for:
- Meal prep
- Family reunions and holidays (it’s a Christmas tradition on my mom’s side of the family!)
- Cold-weather weekends
- Hosting friends
Reheat your leftover stew gently on the stovetop, add a splash of water or stock if needed, and enjoy!
“This is better than my mom’s!! (Shhh. . .don’t tell her. . .)”
– Mary M.
READER COMMENT
Mechado vs. Caldereta: Traditional Filipino Recipes
While families may have different preferences for what makes a mechado recipe “traditional” or “authentic,” this recipe reflects the style I grew up with and how it was taught to me by my dear Tita Leah.
Mechado is similar to a closely related but distinct dish called Beef Caldereta (also spelled Kaldereta). Like mechado, caldereta is a tomato-based Filipino beef stew, but caldereta is traditionally enriched with beef liver or liver spread, which gives the sauce a thicker texture and deeper, more robust flavor. Caldereta is also traditionally made with goat meat, can include different vegetables, and can sometimes be spicier.
Both dishes are beloved in Filipino cuisine, but while mechado is rich and tomato-forward, caldereta is has a nuanced and different savory flavor profile. If you’re exploring Filipino comfort food, trying both is a delicious way to understand their subtle differences.
“This recipe became my specialty and most requested from family and friends at every special occasions.”
– Helena
READER COMMENT
Can You Make Mechado in an Instant Pot?
Part of the magic of mechado comes from the long and slow simmer time. To get the meat really tender, I try to simmer for as long as possible. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes!
Of course, life gets busy. When you want the comfort of mechado without the long cooking time, you can absolutely use an Instant Pot or pressure cooker of your preference to speed things up. And your mechado will still be delicious!
Instead of simmering the beef, cook it in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes at high pressure. Then add the potatoes and carrots and cook again for about 10-15 minutes on high pressure. Allow the mechado to simmer in your pressure cooker, uncovered, afterward to reduce the liquid. This step is critical since the seal of the pressure cooker does not allow the liquid to reduce to a thick gravy.
“Oh my goodness! Out of all of the recipes that I have made this last year, this recipes easily ranks in my top three! I absolutely loved this dish and could honestly eat it multiple times a week! It was so flavorful and delicious. This is going to be going in our family recipe book for sure Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe!”
– Alexis
READER COMMENT
Why You’ll Enjoy Mechado Filipino Beef Stew
When the weather turns and the days feel heavy, mechado always finds its way back to the table. It’s the kind of meal that doesn’t demand a lot of attention, only time. And in that time, something simple becomes extraordinary.
This stew has traveled with me through seasons, kitchens, and chapters of life. Every pot feels like a return to something steady and familiar. To me, that’s the quiet magic of Filipino comfort food, and I hope you enjoy it too.
This reminds me, on my mother’s side of the family, Mechado is also a Christmas tradition.
More Filipino Recipes
Filipino Crispy Tofu and Mushroom Adobo
Ensaymada: Filipino Brioche Bread
Filipino Pork Adobo
Instant Pot Beef Nilaga (Filipino Beef and Vegetable Soup)
Puto: Filipino Steamed Rice Cakes
Note: This post was originally published on September 20, 2015. The recipe has been updated from the archives with updated content and photographs, as well as improved kitchen notes and recipe annotation. I hope you enjoy this favorite from my kitchen.
Mechado Filipino Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs beef for stew
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/4 cup good dark soy sauce I like Silver Swan, found in Asian markets
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce (patis)
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups water
- several dashes of Tabasco
- 2-3 cups beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 2 russet potatoes peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped in 2 inch pieces
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Marinate beef in soy sauce, lemon, and black pepper for at least 30 minutes.
- Brown garlic in oil and set aside.
- Brown beef, working in batches if necessary (reserve the marinade).
- Return beef to pot, add onions and season with fish sauce (patis).
- When the onions are wilted, add tomato sauce and water and stir.
- After about two minutes, add Tabasco, beef stock, 2 tablespoons of reserved marinade, bay leaves and bell pepper.
- Let come to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Add reserved garlic. Cover the pot with the lid, and let it stew for about 1 1/2 hours (see notes), stirring occasionally.
- When the meat is tender, add potatoes and carrots. Continue cooking until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes more. The starch from the potatoes will thicken the sauce, giving it a silky texture.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
Can this be cooked in a crock pot after beef is braised in a pan?
Hi Liren- Maraming salamat!!! (thank you very much!!!) for this recipeI had been searching for a mechado recipe & yours definitely is best! I asked my husband to make it & he absolutely loved it (lucky for me he loves to cook), especially Filipino food. The flavor’s amazing & using the instant pot definitely made for a quicker meal
Yum
Thank you!
Instant pot ratios need calibrating otherwise quite good. I will try again with 1/2 or 2/3 water/broth since it turned out too watery. Also will reduce the cook time of potatoes and carrots since they turned out pretty soft.
I want to try this recipe. I was wondering when cooking for the family, is the Tabasco for flavor (and won’t be spicy) or is there a kick to it? Would it be alright not to use the Tabasco?
Thank you!
Hi Frannie,
My daughter is very sensitive to spicy foods and she doesn’t notice the Tabasco one bit — a few dashes in this stew doesn’t really add too much kick but does add an extra depth of flavor. You can also leave it out if you wish, it will be just fine! Hope that helps — let me know how it turns out!
Do we cover again after we add the meat and potatoes? Thank you!
Hi Johanna,
Yes! Do cover the pot again while it cooks!
I made this dish because I loved it as a child (I’m 1/2 Filipino). Flavor was spot on! I made just one change—before browning the beef, I tossed the cubes in a little all-purpose flour because I wanted to create a thicker broth. My husband LOVED it. Your website is terrific : )
Suobhan, I’m so thrilled this brought you a taste of your childhood! Such a good idea to toss the beef in flour – the sauce must have been extra thick and yummy! Thank you so much for cooking along with me! And yay for hubbies appreciating mechado :)
Thank you sooo much! Followed your recipe from start to finish. The only thing I did differently was frying the potatoes and carrots first on a pan to get it soft before putting it in the pot w the others. I’m Filipina American living in San Francisco and it tasted just like home.
It’s so hard to find really good Filipino recipes online. Again, many thanks! My husband and 2 year old son loved it. Home run.
Pamela, your comment made my day – that means so much and is the best compliment I can ever hope for. I’m so glad it tasted like home AND that the whole family loved it, too!
Tonight I made this recipe for the 2nd time and I love it! Nice subtle change from my usual beef stews. The dark soy sauce/lemon marinade really makes the beef incredibly tender. Yum!
I am so pleased you loved it!! The marinade makes all the difference!
In several other recipes of mechado, I see calamansi juice being used. Your recipe calls for lemon juice. When I visited the Philippines, calamansi reminds me more of lime than lemon in flovor. How much impact in flavor would be substituting line for lemon in this recipe? I love lines.
Growing up in New York, my mom did not have access to calamansi, so lemon was her preferred substitute. But I know what you mean about the flavor of calamansi — to me it’s like a combination of lemon or lime with a touch of tangerine, so by all means, you can substitute lime juice here, and even give it a touch of tangerine or orange juice, if you like. Enjoy!
Incorrect measurement. Way too much liquid for instant pot. Recipe calls for almost 5 cups of liquid for 1.5 lbs of meat. Ended up with a soupy mess. Every orher recipe online calls for 2 cups of liquid or less.
Hi Paul, the challenge with cooking with a pressure cooker is that while the meat benefits by becoming very tender quickly, the liquid doesn’t have time to reduce into a thicker sauce. Also, results can vary depending on the capacity pressure cooker you have. You mention an Instant Pot, and I understand that there are different sizes — I actually have a large capacity pressure cooker by Fagor, and haven’t had any issues with my ratios. By all means, if you prefer a drier mechado, you can reduce the liquid. I should note that it is not 5 cups, but closer to 3-4 cups. Also, if you like, you can allow the mechado to simmer in your pressure cooker, uncovered, afterward to reduce the liquid a bit more. I hope that helps.
so excited to try this out! do you reduce the liquid quantities at all when you use the instant pot? thanks!
Hi Tanya! I don’t change the liquid quantities when I use the pressure cooker :) Hope that helps, and I hope you love it! Let me know how it works out with your instant pot!
Dinner
Hope you do enjoy it for dinner! Not sure if you were commenting or trying to send the link to save or share the recipe, but if so, there is an email button between the recipe and comments section to do so!
Sounds like a lot of flavor!
It truly is, I wish you could taste it!
I love how chunky this is! I’ll bet it smells amazing.
Oh my gosh, if only you could smell it through the screen!!! It’s intoxicating.
This was an easy to follow recipe. My family prefers it much more than the traditional beef stew. The only addition we made were green olives.
Ysena, a belated thanks for your comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe — green olives are a delicious addition!
Hi! How long does it usually take to simmer? Will this work in instantpot? Tyvm
Hi Melissa, it really depends on the meat — but in general, it takes about 45 minutes for the meat to just start getting tender. I would check it at around this time and then gauge it from there. I usually try to simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, longer if I want it really tender (it can’t hurt to go longer!).
Now for the instant pot – or any pressure cooker – yes! I LOVE making the mechado in my pressure cooker and cook it for 30 minutes at high pressure. Then I add the potatoes and carrots and cook again for about 10-15 minutes on high pressure.
I hope this helps! I’ll add these notes to the recipe card. Happy cooking!
when i was growing up, my lola used to make something that she just called “meat, carrots, and potatoes.” THIS IS IT!! i can’t believe how well my google search for “filipino meat carrots potatoes” turned out. i was skeptical making the marinade, but i figured that at least we’d have a good stew. the first time i went to check on the pot in the simmering phase, when i lifted the lid my kitchen suddenly smelled like lola’s house. thank you so much.
Ali, your comment made my day! Thank you SO much for coming back to let me know — I’m so glad you were able to have a taste of your lola’s cooking!! This recipe is such comfort food, isn’t it?
Looks sooo good. It’s currently stewing in my pot right now.
Just wondering though, why does the beef and the red peppers stew first? And then the carrots and potatoes? The red pepper won’t get smushy? Why can’t it be at once? No ones ever taught me to make Filipino food so I have to learn on my own haha
Hi Nicole, good question! Growing up, my family made the mechado so that the peppers melted in, adding it’s flavor to the stew. I hope you enjoyed it!
Hi….
What brand of patis do you prefer?
Thanks!
Hi Karina! I prefer either Rufina Patis or Red Boat Fish Sauce. Hope that helps!
Finally, I found the Beef Mechado that I’ve been looking for. The previous mechado that I made doesn’t taste like it. This one it’s like my mommy’s Mechado. Thanks for sharing.
Charlotte, that means SO much — thank you! There’s nothing like mom’s mechado, so I’m glad this brought back memories and the taste you were looking for!
Is this the same as beef kaldereta? Also if I put it in a crockpot, what heat setting and for how long? Thanks!
Hi Liz! Kaldereta is a little different in that it usually involves liver/liver paste for a richer sauce. The mechado can be started on the stove and transferred to the slow cooker — cook for 3-4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. I hope that helps!
What cut of beef do you use for this dish. I have never tried making this, but whenever we visit Manila I take my husband to Fely J’s or Abe’s for mechado as this is his fave Filipino dish. I read your blog and you made it sound so easy to make. I will surely try making this!!! Looking forward to your response… thank you in advance.
Hi Boo! I use boneless beef chuck for this recipe. It’s such an easy favorite, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Please come back and let me know how it goes.
Hi. Seems like a good recipe and I will definitely try this. Thank you.
May I know what you refer to as “reserved garlic”? The garlic you browned or fresh crushed garlic?
Would appreciate your reply.
VTY,
Atchet
The reserved garlic is the garlic you brown at the beginning of the recipe. Enjoy!
Is the tomato sauce, ketchup or tin tomatoes?
Hi Dagny, the tomato sauce is neither ketchup nor tinned tomatoes (whole). It is canned tomato sauce, such as this Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce
or similar. I hope that helps!
Can I transfer it in the crockpot to let it stew for a few hours?
Absolutely! I do this all the time!
do you cover the pot when simmering or leave uncovered?
Good question, thanks so much, Charity. I do cover the pot while simmering (adding that to the directions!).
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Can I substitute more water instead of beef stock?
Yes, absolutely, Shereen. I used to use just water, but I do like how the flavor is richer when I use beef stock. If you use water, then you may have to adjust your seasoning a touch – try tweaking it with a bit of soy sauce and/or fish sauce, and you should be fine! Let me know how it works out!
This stew looks amazing! I love the idea of soy sauce and serving it over rice – I will have to try this recipe soon.
I have a hearty beef stew that I usually make, but it might be time for a change. :)
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Valerie! The soy sauce does add so much flavor to the stew – I hope you try this favorite of mine!