Missionary Life

TEAM Eats: Recipe for Menudo

November 15, 2018
by Laura O'Day

This is my husband’s favorite Filipino dish and a crowd-pleaser with our whole family. Filipinos often eat rice and ulam (which simply means “vegetables and maybe meat, in sauce, that goes on rice”) most for dinner. This is one of our regular ulam meals!

Everybody here has their own menudo recipe, with their own blend of meat, vegetables, tomato sauce, bay leaves and spices. This particular recipe came from my friend, Leng. She’s a sweet person and an amazing chef! As a TEAM missionary in the Philippines, I wanted to learn some local recipes, so she graciously let me hover over her shoulder with my notebook while she cooked.

Menudo has become one of my favorite meals to make and share with others in any country because it’s so tasty and brings to mind so many good memories of the places and people here in the Philippines.

Here’s my family’s favorite way to eat menudo!

Ingredients:

1 lb pork, cut into chunks
3 small-medium potatoes, cut into chunks (about 1½ cups)
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks (about ½ cup)
1 small onion, chopped (½ cup)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (around 1tsp)
About 200 grams of frozen peas (7 oz)
1 small red pepper, cut into chunks (½ cup)
1 pork bouillon cube
Soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste
200 grams of tomato sauce (7 oz)
1-2 bay leaves

Directions:

1. Season pork with soy sauce, salt and pepper, to taste. Let sit for about 20 minutes.

2. Saute onion and garlic in oil briefly. Add pork and stir. Cover and allow to cook over low heat until mostly browned, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in bay leaves and bouillon. Stir in tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, stirring regularly.

4. After a few minutes, add potatoes and carrots. Add water as needed to get the liquid about ¾ of the way to the top of the stew. Stir and cover.