Dinuguan

My "D" food is Dinuguan, or Pork Blood Stew. This is one of the traditional Filipino dishes that is often served in big celebrations - like town fiesta or any major life celebrations (wedding, baptism, birthday, anniversary, graduation). During these celebrations, especially if it is held in provinces, the host would usually have a whole pig butchered and from it, they would cook different dishes to be served to guests. Since they have the whole pig butchered, they would use the blood and the fatty parts + offals (liver, intestines) of the pig to make this dish. Not really that healthy, but it was a good use of certain pig parts. :)

Like most traditional Filipino dishes, this dish has many different versions from different regions. Others use coconut cream to make it creamy, others use tamarind leaves to make it a little tangy. It may not really be that healthy, but since this dish is also prepared on normal days, people do know how to make it "tolerable," that is, by using pure pork and not include any internals, like the image I have here. I had this for dinner at a restaurant in La Union (one of provinces located north of the country). Not only did they use pure pork, they also used more meat than fat, so I didn't really feel guilty eating it. My aunt also has her way of making the dish healthy - by either chopping banana heart or chayote or bottle gourd so we won't have to use that much meat. Personally, I like my dinuguan creamy (like the one in the picture), and while I can tolerate the intestines, I don't like this dish with liver.

How do I cook my Diniguan? I'd just saute onions, garlic, and pork cut into little cubes and let the meat cook in little water for a while then pour the pig's blood (previously seasoned with vinegar and salt) and simmer it until it is creamy. I also add bay leaf and peppercorns to add more flavor.

I admit, some traditional Filipino dishes lack in color, but as icky as the idea of using pig's blood in this dish, this dish is actually very tasty, delicious, and yes, comforting as well.