Dinuguan

''Dinuguan'' () is a Filipino savory stew usually of pork offal (typically lungs, kidneys, intestines, ears, heart and snout) and/or meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili (most often '' siling haba''), and vinegar.

Etymology and names

The most popular term ''dinuguan'' and other regional naming variants come from their respective word for "blood" (e.g. "dugo" in Tagalog means "blood" hence "dinuguan" as "to be stewed with blood"). Possible English translations include pork blood stew or blood pudding stew.

''Dinuguan'' is also called ''sinugaok'' in Batangas, ''zinagan'' in Ibanag, ''twik'' in Itawis, ''tid-tad'' in Kapampangan, ''dinardaraan'' in Ilocano, ''dugo-dugo'' in Cebuano, ''rugodugo'' in Waray, ''sampayna'' or ''champayna'' in Northern Mindanao and ''tinumis'' in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. A euphemism for this dish is "chocolate meat".

''Dinuguan'' is also found in the Marianas Islands, believed to have been introduced to the islands by Filipino immigrants, where it is known locally as ''Fritada''.

Description

This dish is rather similar to European-style blood sausage, or British and Irish black pudding in a saucy stew form. It is perhaps closer in appearance and preparation to the Polish soup Czernina or an even more ancient Spartan dish known as ''melas zomos'' (black soup) whose primary ingredients were pork, vinegar and blood.

''Dinuguan'' can also be served without using any offal, using only choice cuts of pork. In Batangas, this version is known as ''sinungaok''. It can also be made from beef and chicken meat, the latter being known as ''dinuguang manok'' ('chicken dinuguan'). ''Dinuguan'' is usually served with white rice or a Philippine rice cake called '' puto''. The Northern Luzon versions of the dish, namely the Ilocano ''dinardaraan'' and the Ibanag ''zinagan'' are often drier with toppings of deep-fried pork intestine cracklings. The Itawes of Cagayan also have a pork-based version that has larger meat chunks and more fat, which they call ''twik''.

The most important ingredient of the ''dinuguan'' recipe, pig's blood, is used in many other Asian cuisines either as coagulated blood acting as a meat extender or as a mixture for the broth itself. Pork ''dinuguan'' is the latter.

The dish is not consumed by religious groups that have dietary laws prohibiting the consumption of blood, most notably the indigenous Iglesia Ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, and Filipino Jews.

Preparation

Serving suggestions

List of other regional variations

Other regional variants of ''dinuguan'' include:

* In Aklan, it is called ''dinuguan sa batwan'', using the '' batwan'' fruit.
* In Bulacan, it is called ''serkele/sirkele'', a specialty similar in ingredients to ''dinuguan'' but without pig's blood and using beef internal organs; soupy and on the sour side; other reports cow blood is used.
* In Marinduque, a local variant known as ''kari-kari'' is cooked with the same ingredients but is stewed until almost dry before the pork blood is added.
* In Bicol, it is called ''tinutungang dinuguan'', meaning, it contains coconut milk and chilies; it is called such because coconut milk is added, and charcoal embers are used to  cook the milk until curdling point at which it forms creamy reduction or ''latik''.
* In Capiz, ''dinuguan na manok sa pinulipot nga abalong''.
* In Cebu, ''dugo-dugo'', which has itself many versions, with some adding cubes of solidified blood, just like in Pampanga's ''tid-tad'', and other versions omitting the pork liver from the dish while the innards are chopped so finely down to the millimetre, so that the end result is a pork blood stew without the recognizable ingredients.
* In the Ilocos Region, in San Nicolas, it is a crispy ''dinuguan'' that uses bagnet slices. While in Ilocos Norte, it is called ''mollo'', a brownish and watery version of ''dinuguan''.
* In Laguna, ''dinuguang kalabaw'', ''dinuguan'' using the more flavorful " carabeef".
* In Leyte (Southern), it is mixed with banana blossoms and pig's blood.
* In Manila, ''dinuguan sa usbong ng sampalok'', a Tagalog blood stew with young tamarind leaves.
* In Masbate, it is called ''sinanglay'', where they add ''tanglad'' (lemongrass).
* In Northern Mindanao, it is called ''sampayna'' or ''champayna'' and also uses lemongrass.
* In Pampanga, ''dinuguang puti'', synonym for ''tidtad babi'' which is not black or brown unlike the usual ''dinuguan'' because the blood is torn into pieces by hand after it curdles.
* In Pangasinan, it is called ''baguisen''; it uses '' kamias'' as a souring agent; the offal is washed with detergent then boiled in guava leaves to get rid of the smell; in Barangay Inirangan, Bayambang, they include ''upo'' slices in their ''baguisen''.
* In Quezon Province, it is called ''pirihil'', a ''dinuguan'' of chicken gizzard, heart and liver.
* In Visayas, called ''paklay'', a Visayan blood stew of blood and intestine of goat, but a little bit drier.
* In Zamboanga/Basilan or Cavite (Chavacano), "Chavacano-style ''dinuguan''", which uses ''tuba'' (sugar cane) vinegar and contains crushed oregano leaves.

See also

* Beutelwurst
* Black soup
* Blood as food
* Blood soup
* List of stews
* Saksang
* Sarapatel
* Svartsoppa

References

{{Filipino food

Blood dishes
Philippine stews
Pork dishes
Guamanian cuisine