Tito Wayne & Tita Chit + Beef Pochero

Beef Pochero
prepared by Wayne and Conchita Gavino

This beef pochero recipe comes from Drs. Wayne and Conchita Gavino, physicians specializing respectively in neurology and psychiatry. The two met in medical school in Manila, dated seriously during their senior year, and married after graduation. Shortly after, they moved to Ohio for their internships and relocated later to Chicago for their residencies. The pair settled in the north suburbs of Chicago, where they joined private practices and raised their son. They continue to practice privately, but these days much of their attention is devoted to their two young granddaughters.

Conchita grew up the youngest of seven children in the Sampaloc district of Manila. While most of the cooking for the household was done by the family’s help, her mother was adamant that the children participate in the food preparation, expecting them to oversee the kitchen activity and inviting them to join her on her trips to market. Conchita looked forward to the weekends when her mother had time to cook and the family enjoyed a wide variety of dishes. She learned a lot from these experiences, but she did not begin to like cooking until it became her responsibility after moving to the US. She implemented what she had observed during her childhood and it was this foundational culinary knowledge that she shared with Wayne early in their marriage when her work schedule made it difficult for her to be the sole cook of the family.

Wayne grew up the eldest of four in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, where his mother did the cooking for the family. He fondly remembers when his family members would bring homemade Ilocano dishes when they visited him in college, providing him comfort and welcome respite from daily dormitory food. His mother’s cooking left an indelible mark, and although he did not learn from her cooking directly, remembering the strong flavors of his childhood helped him develop his own way of cooking in the future.

Under Conchita’s guidance, Wayne learned to cook and grew confident in his culinary abilities, mastering traditional dishes like adobo, pinakbet, and sinigang. He learned how easy it was to fry chicken and to prepare spaghetti from fresh ingredients rather than using premade sauces. Cooking became a team effort between them, a practice they still share to this day. When they cook, Conchita preps the ingredients consistently and uniformly, which Wayne appreciates and admires very much. He then combines and cooks the ingredients, requesting her opinion and asking her to taste along the way. The result is always something they both enjoy and are proud of.

This beef pochero recipe is one Tito Wayne and Tita Chit developed together based on their memories of eating it in the Philippines and modified it to fit their current tastes. While a pressure cooker can be used to tenderize the meat, Tito Wayne advises to use it only as a last resort. He believes that the best flavor and texture are developed from a long, slow simmer. The main seasoning, fish sauce, should be added while the meat is browning so that the flavor is fully absorbed before the water is added. They agree that these details are important, especially when they pass down this recipe to their son and grandchildren, because it will make a difference in the overall taste.