Dinuguan: Filipino Pork Stew Simmered in Vinegar and Pork Blood

A stew where pork blood is the star, from a Filipino breakfast table

At the meat counter of a morning market, pork blood is sold by weight. Back home, oil goes into the pot, and the sound of garlic and onion sizzling fills the kitchen. When the pork simmers in vinegar, the steam stings your nose. Then the blood goes in, poured in a thin stream, and the brown broth suddenly turns heavy, a deep chocolate color. Once the heat is off, a faint dark line is left around the rim of the pot. In a home kitchen anywhere, this is the part you take slowly, over low heat.

Plenty of people are put off by how dark it looks. But take one bite and the sourness comes first, with the richness of the blood following close behind. Dinuguan is a stew whose tang keeps you reaching for rice. Where the name comes from is explained in the next paragraph.

Dinuguan is a dark Filipino stew of pork, and sometimes offal, simmered with pork blood, vinegar, garlic and chilies. The name comes from words related to dugo, "blood." In English it is sometimes called "chocolate meat," and it is eaten with white rice or puto, a steamed rice cake. Using vinegar to make meat easy to eat puts it in the same family as adobo (in Japanese) and sinigang (in Japanese). But because the blood itself becomes the sauce, it feels much heavier in the mouth, and the sourness stands up to that weight with equal force.

The history of the dish: using the whole pig, and vinegar

The blood stew is thought to have grown out of the idea of using an entire pig, nothing wasted. According to Panlasang Pinoy, it was once called daguit in Tagalog, and it appears to have taken root in everyday life as a dish that wastes not even the blood. One view holds that it developed under influences that arrived via Spain and Mexico, but the exact route isn't known. People have also pointed out similarities to Polish czernina and to the black soup of pork, vinegar and blood from ancient Sparta. Still, there is no basis for saying they are directly connected.

The vinegar's job here is to tame any gaminess in the meat and to mellow the blood. Because vinegar cuts the iron taste of the blood, even a dark, heavy sauce finishes surprisingly light.

At home or at a celebration, dinuguan arrives in a big serving dish. A pot of dark sauce sits in the middle of the table, flanked by steaming white rice or puto. Fluffy steamed puto has a gentle sweetness that quietly rounds off the sourness and richness. Since the sweetness of puto softens the tang, alternating a spoonful of sauce with a bite of puto keeps you going. Soft steamed buns or rice-flour steamed cakes give a similar effect. For more about puto, see our puto article.

Among pork dishes, bopis (in Japanese) is offal stir-braised in vinegar, and sisig (in Japanese) turns chopped meat crisp and savory. Only dinuguan makes its sauce from blood.

Before you cook: choosing pork blood, and food safety

The one ingredient you cannot replace is pork blood. You rarely see it in an ordinary supermarket. Try a butcher, an Asian grocery, or a shop that sells frozen food-grade pork blood. Choose only blood that has been processed as food. If the bag is torn when you thaw it, or the blood smells strongly off or is foamy, don't use it. Never leave it at room temperature, and use whatever you thaw the same day. Liver or black pudding won't work as a substitute. On days you can't get it, making adobo (in Japanese) is the more natural choice. Use only food-grade pork blood.

There are standards for cooking, too. In Japan, serving raw pork and pork offal has been prohibited since June 12, 2015. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare sets the standard for cooking pork and liver at a core temperature of 63°C (145°F) for at least 30 minutes, or 75°C (167°F) for at least 1 minute. With this recipe, the core of the meat comfortably passes 75°C while it simmers.

Ingredients (serves 4)

This serves 4. Use a mix of pork shoulder and pork belly. Shoulder alone tastes a little thin, while belly alone is too fatty. Mixing shoulder and belly gives you a good balance of tenderness and richness. Liver has a strong flavor, so don't overdo it. Keep the pork blood frozen until the end, and take it out only after everything else is ready.

Shopping: start with the vinegar and the fish sauce

Pork shoulder and pork belly are easy to find at any supermarket or butcher. Ask a butcher or an Asian grocery for food-grade pork blood. The items worth seeking out are coconut vinegar, which supplies the sourness; patis, which carries the salt and savory depth; and a thermometer for checking doneness. Start your shopping with the vinegar and the fish sauce.

Coconut vinegar is rounder in acidity than rice vinegar, and it cuts the iron taste of the blood while adding a fermented note. As a substitute, combine 60 ml rice vinegar with 30 ml black rice vinegar. If you plan to keep cooking Filipino food, a bottle will also serve you for humba and bopis (in Japanese). In kinilaw, coconut vinegar is very nearly the star.

Patis is Filipino fish sauce; if you don't have it, use a little Thai fish sauce (nam pla). Leave out the fish sauce and the savory depth thins out, so that only the vinegar and blood come forward. Holding a little back for the finish makes it easy to match your household's taste for salt. A large bottle is more than one batch of dinuguan will use, but it also works in other Filipino dishes and as a background seasoning in stir-fries; a small bottle of nam pla is another option.

The thermometer earns its keep after the blood goes in. Once the sauce turns dark, it's hard to judge doneness by eye. Confirming with a number that the center of the meat has passed 75°C (167°F) lets you serve it with confidence. It isn't a dinuguan-only tool; you can use it for tinola (in Japanese) and offal dishes, too. Without one, check that a bamboo skewer slides in easily and that the liver has changed color all the way to the center.

Instructions

The flavor of this dish is mostly settled by how you cook the vinegar and the pork. After adding the vinegar, don't stir right away: let it boil for 2 minutes over medium heat so the acidity rises. Some say that boiling it unstirred softens its sharpness. And never boil the blood. Once it's in, move a wooden spatula across the bottom of the pot as if stroking it. Pour it in a little at a time and keep stirring; that is the basic rule. Remember: pour the blood in a thin stream over low heat.

How to fix problems

After the blood goes in, it's tempting to turn up the heat, thinking more cooking must be safer. But a hard boil at that point makes the sauce grainy. Get your safety from time and low heat instead. Not using high heat is what keeps it both smooth and safe. The same goes for reheating: stir the bottom of the pot and heat it slowly until it's hot all the way through. Aim for a core temperature of 75°C (167°F) or higher.

Serving

It's tempting to drown your rice in sauce. But if you pour it over only half the rice, the plain white portion you leave lets you control the sourness yourself. If you can't find puto, serve a little lightly sweet steamed bun, rice-flour steamed cake, or soft white bread. Good side dishes include quick-pickled cucumber, a tomato and onion salad, or lightly stir-fried greens. Skip fried foods, which pile heaviness on heaviness.

Setting other Filipino dishes on the same table is part of the fun. Chicken inasal (in Japanese), tinola (in Japanese) and lechon (in Japanese) won't fight with dinuguan's richness. Since the sourness would double up, it's better not to serve sinigang (in Japanese) alongside it. If you love sweet-savory beef stew with garlic rice, beef pares makes a good next dish.

Storage and reheating

When it's done, transfer it to a shallow container and cool it quickly. Don't leave it sitting at room temperature in the pot. It keeps in the refrigerator until the next day. To reheat, add 2–3 tbsp water and heat over low heat, stirring, until hot all the way through.

To freeze, pack it flat in single portions and eat within 2 weeks. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator; it will be a little grainy after thawing. If you use a microwave, stir once partway through, then finish it in a pot. We don't recommend it for packed lunches, because of its color and aroma and the difficulty of keeping it at a safe temperature.

FAQ

If I can't get pork blood, can I use liver instead?

No. Adding more liver just gives you a thick, iron-tasting stew, not a sauce. On days you can't get pork blood, switch to adobo (in Japanese).

What can I use if I don't have coconut vinegar?

Mix 60 ml rice vinegar with 30 ml black rice vinegar. If you use only distilled grain vinegar, start with 80 ml and add 1 tsp at a time at the finish, tasting as you go.

Is it inauthentic without offal?

Not at all. Some regional versions, like the sinugaok of Batangas, are made with good-quality meat only. Keep the liver to 80 g at most. Too much and it starts to taste like a liver stew.

Can I make it without the heat?

Yes. Simmer just one whole green chili in the stew and skip the sliced chili at the finish. Keep the 1/2 tsp black pepper. Put a spicy vinegar on the table and everyone can add heat to taste.

My sauce isn't jet black. Did it fail?

No. Depending on the concentration of the blood, the vinegar and how it was cooked, the color ranges from near-black brown to deep chocolate. Rather than the color, check for a thickness where the spatula trail holds for a moment, and for the absence of graininess. Don't add soy sauce to darken it.

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