Filipino Cuisine: "The Dinuguan" or "Chocolate Meat"

I had a favorite comfort food dish with my family and a few coworkers, and I'd like to share it with you today. We call that "Dinuguan."

Little pieces of pork are cooked with vinegar, pig's blood, and seasonings like garlic, onions, and chili peppers to create the flavorful Filipino stew known as dinuguan, whose name comes from the root word dugo, which means "blood."

Pork blood, diced pork, and seasonings combine to make the savory dish dinuguan, or chocolate meat. This classic Filipino pork stew is delicious and can be served as a filling lunch with steamed rice or a midday snack with puto. It tastes solid.

Beginners or intermediate cooks should try this easy dinuguan recipe. I'll review what you'll need to make a mouthwatering Dinuguan home.

Components
Cut 1 pound of pork into cubes.
One cup of vinegar
A pair of elongated green peppers
Half a teaspoon of brown sugar
One finely chopped onion piece
One teaspoon of finely minced garlic
Three tablespoons of olive oil
One cup of water
Ten oz. of pork blood
A single pork cube column
Add pepper and salt to taste.

Ingredient Notes

Along with premium pork cuts, it typically includes a variety of refuse, such as kidneys, intestines, hearts, lungs, and ears. Although pork is used the most frequently, chicken or beef is also used in some variations.

Some versions call for tomato sauce, tamarind, or kamias; I use vinegar. Regardless of your option, these acids serve the same purpose: They add the perfect sourness to the dish and prevent the blood from curdling.

The brown sugar added in the final minutes of cooking helps balance the flavors, even though this wealthy, savory dish might seem out of place.

How to Cook Dinuguan

First, sauté the garlic and onion. This is the customary method of preparing Filipino cuisine. Ensure that the onion is soft before adding the pork. Saute the meat until it turns a light brown color. For this recipe, you can use any boneless pork cut. Cook until it becomes a pale brown hue. Feel free to include internals.

Heat the pork until it boils. Pour water into the pot, cover, and cook on low heat until the food is tender. Adding a bouillon cube gives the dish a more meaty texture.

Pour in the pork blood and stir to ensure the pork is cooked. Cook for eight minutes minimum. Add the vinegar and remaining ingredients and stir. Some people add the blood after the vinegar. The order is up to you to decide.

You'll notice that brown sugar is a crucial ingredient in this version. Unlike my earlier videos, this is not meant to replace MSG. It is added to improve the overall flavor of the stew.

If you want it hotter, you can add some green chili.

Cooking Advice

Stir in one or two tablespoons before adding the pork blood vinegar to the stew to ensure a smooth, deep-brown sauce.

Allow the vinegar to boil uncovered for a few minutes without stirring to remove the strong acid taste.

There's no need to thicken the gravy. When heated, the albumin protein in the blood coagulates, naturally thickening the blood.

The dinuguan is best when it's hot; you can enjoy it with bread, puto, and rice!

The stew made from pork blood, popularly known as "chocolate meat," goes by several names: dinardaraan in Ilocos, dugo dugo in Cebuano, tumis in Bulacan, and sinugaok in Batangas.