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Panamanian Ropa Vieja

Name: Panamanian Ropa Vieja
Total time: 120 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Panama
Ingredients: 500g Beef Shank; 1/2 can Canned tomatoes; 1 Onion; 2 Green Bell Pepper; 3 cloves Garlic; 1/2 tsp Oregano; 1/2 tsp Cumin powder; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil; 1 tsp Salt; 1L Water; To taste Cooked rice

Main Dish

⏱ 120 min

👥 Serves 4

Difficulty ⭐

Shredded beef stewed with tomato, pepper, and onion — the Panamanian home dish called 'old clothes.'

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Ropa vieja means 'old clothes,' named because beef stewed for a long time and shredded into thin strands looks like scraps of old cloth. Widespread across the Caribbean, in Panama the beef is stewed with tomato, green pepper, onion, and garlic and eaten with white rice and patacones (fried plantain).

🌆 Where it's eaten: At lunch in a Panamanian home, red stew of finely shredded beef is plated with white rice and crisp fried plantain.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 4)

Beef Shank 500g
Canned tomatoes 1/2 can
Onion 1
Green Bell Pepper 2
Garlic 3 cloves
Oregano 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder 1/2 tsp
Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp
Vegetable Oil 2 tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
Water 1L
Cooked rice To taste

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Simmer the beef in water with salt for 1 1/2 hours until tender and shred thinly along the grain.
Heat oil in a pot and sauté the sliced onion, garlic, and green pepper strips.
Add the canned tomatoes, oregano, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and 150ml beef cooking liquid and simmer 10 minutes.
Add the shredded beef and simmer 15 minutes until the liquid reduces.
Season with salt and serve with rice.

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