Pork Menudo

Ingredients

Measure and prepare everything before you begin cooking.

• 750 g pork shoulder, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 200 g pork liver, cut into small cubes
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp calamansi juice
• 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 400 g canned chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups pork or chicken stock
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup green peas
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp fine salt, divided
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 tsp brown sugar, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Combine the pork shoulder with soy sauce, calamansi juice and half the black pepper. Marinate for 20 minutes while you cut the vegetables. Keep the liver chilled separately.

2. 2

   Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Lift the pork from the marinade, reserving the liquid, and brown it in two batches for 3–4 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.

3. 3

   Lower the heat to medium. Cook the onion with ¼ teaspoon salt for 3 minutes, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then cook the tomato paste for 1 minute until it darkens slightly.

4. 4

   Return the pork and pour in the reserved marinade, tomatoes and stock. Add the bay leaf, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

5. 5

   Add the potatoes and carrots. Simmer partly covered for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pork is tender and the vegetables can be pierced with a fork without falling apart.

6. 6

   Add the liver, bell pepper and peas. Simmer gently for 6–8 minutes, just until the liver is cooked through; overcooking makes it grainy. Taste the sauce, then add the remaining salt and pepper and the sugar only if the tomatoes taste sharp.

7. 7

   Remove the bay leaf and rest the menudo for 5 minutes. Serve hot with steamed rice, spooning plenty of sauce over each portion.