Favorite Filipino Foods With Their Health Benefits and Risks – The Menudo

One of the top favorite dishes in the Philippines is the Menudo. Found in almost every occasion, this dish is a great source of nutrients. But the use of meat and oil poses some health risks. Learn more about this favorite Menudo from the Philippines.

Just like the boy band with the same name, this rich, Filipino dish is a feast for the senses. This top Philippine delicacy is a dish of diced meat and vegetable in thickened sauce. Flavored with tomatoes, finely chopped onions, and colorful bell pepper, Menudo is a relatively healthier dish than the rest of the Filipino foods.

Menudo is mainly pork, which is rich in protein and phosphorus. The secret of Menudo is in the addition of liver. Liver is rich in vitamin A, vitamin B1 or thiamine, vitamin B2 or riboflavin, folic acid, and niacin.
The dish is rich in sodium due to the use of tomato sauce. Like other Philippine dishes, it is also high in fat due to oil and meat.

As a healthier solution, choose leaner cuts of pork and try to lessen the amount of oil used to sauté the ingredients. Below is my own healthier recipe:

Ingredients: cooking oil, 50 g garlic, 750 g lean cuts of pork, 250 g liver, 200 g bell peppers (green and red for color), 100 g onions (red), 200 g potatoes, 200 g carrots, 2.5 cups tomato sauce, 4 cups soup stock, atsuete for color, black pepper and salt to taste

To cook Menudo, sauté onions then garlic in oil. Add atsuete with pork and liver and simmer until meat is tender. Add tomato sauce and soup stock and simmer until sauce thickens. Add carrots, potatoes, and bell peppers and season with salt and pepper to taste.