Menudo Recipes

A well-known Filipino stew, menudo is made with a tasty blend of pork, liver, veggies, and tomato sauce. With several regional variants, this meal is a common favorite in the Philippines and is substantial and flavorful. Fish sauce, soy sauce, and other condiments are frequently used to season menudo to taste. This hearty and satisfying dish is frequently offered for special events, family get-togethers, and even as a daily dinner. Usually, steaming rice is served alongside it.

Pork menudo is a common dish served at dining tables during fiestas and other events in practically every Philippine municipality. Since this is one of the most popular "putahe" (dishes) offered, there are several varieties of it. Sun-dried raisins, green peas, or garbanzos are sometimes used to pork menudo dishes together with hotdogs (pinoy red hotdogs). Since nearly every province has its own variation, I believe it to be a regional phenomenon. I have to confess that every variant tastes just as excellent as everyone else's, but my favorite is "Ang lutong bahay ni nanay," or my mother's food, which is the one I grew up eating. Some have inquired as to whether tomato sauce may be substituted with Filipino spaghetti sauce. It is not a problem in my opinion. Actually, I occasionally use it to prepare menudo and other meals that use tomatoes. Since the Filipino store is thirty minutes away from my house, I find it advantageous to get these products online if I don't need them right away. Pork giniling is another relatively similar recipe that you may prepare. It tastes well with cooked eggs and is made with ground pork.

Cooking Pork Menudo: A Guide

The meat in this recipe for pork menudo must first be marinated in soy sauce and lemon juice before cooking. In a bowl, mix the pork, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Stir thoroughly, then leave it for at least one hour. To prevent contamination, it's best to keep the bowl in the refrigerator while you marinade. Prior to doing this, make sure the bowl is covered.

Remove the pork from the refrigerator fifteen minutes prior to cooking. Add the onion and garlic and begin to sauté. You'll see that Filipino cooking frequently uses this technique. The majority of Filipino dishes are prepared by first sautéing onion and garlic.

Add the marinated pork and sauté until it browns after the onions are tender. Add the bay leaves, water (or beef broth), and tomato sauce (crushed tomatoes work well too). For this dish, dried bay leaves are used. Depending on the quality of the beef, this might take anywhere from 40 to 60 minutes to simmer covered. It's time to add the sliced liver when the meat is done. To make the liver less gamey, you may sauté it with garlic and ginger before adding it raw. After this, add the vegetables and simmer for a further few minutes. To taste, add more or less salt and pepper. Additionally, unless you really like it that way, avoid overcooking the potatoes and carrots since they will become quite mushy.

How should I keep it?

It might be very tempting to eat the entire serving of menudo by yourself. However, because of how many components it contains, you might not be able to finish it in one sitting. But worry not—storing this meal longer will actually make it better. Further resting days may result in a deeper flavor as all of your flavors—from the tomato sauce to the garlic—settle in beautifully. To prevent it from rotting, just make sure you're keeping it correctly and that you monitor the amount of time you set it aside.

We'll be chilling the pork menudo for this. Because of this, you must ensure that your dish has reached room temperature before we proceed, since it may still be hot off the burner. Once it cools completely, you may store it in an airtight container or a resealable bag.

After that, place this in the refrigerator for around three days to ensure that your menudo is ready to consume. However, you are welcome to freeze it if you need it for a dinner or function that is a little later down the road. If you freeze it, this should last for two months.

What happens if I want to reheat it when I'm ready to eat it again?

Reusing your burner and putting your mixture back into a saucepan is one of the best methods to accomplish this. The Menudo can be reheated over low heat until it reaches an internal temperature of around 165 °F. This would have a flavor similar to your just prepared menudo.

However, you may also use a microwave if you're in a bit of a rush. This is also ideal if you have some of this food in the fridge that you can take to work. To prepare the Menudo, simply take it and microwave it for two to three minutes at a time. Continue to check to see whether your food is heated enough for you. Make sure the container you use for this is safe to use in the microwave.

Your delicious plate of pork menudo is now prepared and ready to eat! This is undoubtedly a recipe with a lot of components. Therefore, it would be advisable to double the recipe and freeze the extras for later use. There are several additional recipes that possess the same allure of being a stunning, delectable fusion of diverse ingredients. However, because of their similarities, three in particular are typically grouped together in Filipino cuisine.

Here's a basic recipe for Pork Menudo:

Ingredients:

- 1 pound (450g) pork, cubed (pork shoulder or pork belly)

- 1/4 pound (115g) pork liver, cubed

- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

- 1 onion, chopped

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 potato, peeled and diced into small cubes

- 1 carrot, peeled and diced into small cubes

- 1 red bell pepper, diced

- 1 green bell pepper, diced

- 1 cup tomato sauce

- 1/2 cup water

- 2 bay leaves

- Salt and pepper to taste

- 1/2 cup frozen green peas (optional)

- 2 hotdogs, sliced into rounds (optional, for added flavor and color)

- Raisins (optional, for a touch of sweetness)

- Cooked rice, for serving

Instructions:

1. Sauté Aromatics:

   - Heat the vegetable oil in a big pot or deep pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and diced onion. Cook until the garlic is aromatic and the onion is transparent.

2. Brown the Pork and Liver:

   - Add the liver and diced pork to the pot. Cook for approximately 5-7 minutes, or until they begin to brown on both sides.

3. Add Tomato Sauce and Water:

   - After adding the water and tomato sauce, mix everything together. This will provide the Menudo sauce's foundation.

4. Simmer and Cook:

   - For more flavor, add the bay leaves to the saucepan. After bringing the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat. Simmer until the meat is cooked through and tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. You may adjust the sauce's thickness by adding extra water while it's cooking.

5. Add Vegetables:

   - Add the chopped carrots and potatoes to the saucepan. Simmer until the veggies are soft, about 10 to 15 more minutes.

6. Add Bell Peppers and Optional Ingredients:

   - Add the frozen green peas, sliced hotdogs, chopped red and green bell peppers, and raisins (if using, for a hint of sweetness) and stir. Simmer for a further five minutes or so.

7. Season:

   - To taste, add salt and pepper to the menudo. Tailor the seasoning to your personal taste.

8. Serve Hot:

   - Take off the bay leaves once the meat is cooked through and all the ingredients are done.

   - Serve heated steamed rice alongside the pork menudo.

   - Enjoy your homemade Menudo!