Menudo

Menudo

(Pork and Tomato Stew)

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons cooking oil

10 to 15 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium bulb onion, minced

10 tablespoons fish sauce

10 tablespoons soy sauce

30 medium red tomatoes, seeds removed

1½ kilo pork, cut into cubes

½ kilo pork liver, cut into cubes

3 medium carrots, sliced

3 medium potatoes, cut into cubes

2 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
10 blades dried bay laurel leaves

1 tablespoon annatto seeds (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

Mix the pork, pork liver, tomatoes, garlic, onion, soy sauce and laurel leaves in a large bowl.  Marinate for at least 30 minutes. 

Heat the cooking oil in a pan.  Fry the carrots and potatoes separately for five minutes each.  Set aside the fried vegetables.  Turn the heat to low setting.  Toss in the annatto seeds and stir for not more than a minute.  Remove the annatto seeds and toss in the garlic.  You may turn up the heat at this point.  When the garlic turns medium brown, add the onion and stir until slightly tender.  Put fish sauce.  Mix until the fish sauce is reduced.  Put the marinated mixture and cover.  Stir occasionally until the pork meat is tender.  Add water if necessary.  Once the pork meat is tender, reduce the water until the sauce slightly thickens.  Add fish sauce or soy sauce if necessary.  Put the carrots, potatoes and bell pepper.  Cover and simmer for a few minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.    

This recipe will serve up to eight people.

Additional Notes:  The annatto seeds are used to add color to the sauce.  Be careful when heating the seeds in oil, prolonged heating and high temperature will infuse a bitter taste to the food.  Some people use hot water to extract the colorant from the seeds.  Tomato paste may be used as a substitute for fresh tomatoes.