Lengua Estofado Recipe

I was maybe 15 or 16 the first time I cooked lengua estofado. That was back in the Philippines, and I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew the adults always had it at family gatherings and I wanted to try. The tongue came out a little tough that first time, to be honest. But the sauce, that sweet and tangy tomato sauce with the olives, I knew right away that this Lengua Estofado recipe was going to be something I would keep cooking for the rest of my life. Lengua Estofado is a hybrid of Spanish and Filipino cooking. The diced tomatoes, white wine, and green olives come from the Spanish side.

 

The soy sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar are what make this Lengua Estofado truly Filipino. Some people spell it lengua estofada, which is just the feminine Spanish form. Same dish. The version I make today is a lot better than that first attempt, but the core of my Lengua Estofado has not changed much.

I used to hate ox tongue. Seriously. When I was a kid, I looked at it on the serving plate during Christmas Eve and thought it was the strangest food anyone could eat. My cousins were the same way. We would pick at the rice and skip the lengua entirely. I finally caved one year, probably because there was nothing else left, and discovered that it tasted better than most beef dishes on the table. Softer than brisket. The sauce reminded me of a richer beef kaldereta with that same tomato backbone but more character from the wine and olives. It has been on our holiday table ever since.

Getting the tongue tender is everything. I pressure cook it for 45 minutes. If you do not own one, plan for two to three hours of boiling. There is no shortcut for this part.

What is Lengua Estofado?

Lengua Estofado is a Filipino braised beef tongue stew made with tomatoes, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and olives. Its name comes from the Spanish words lengua, meaning tongue, and estofado, meaning stew. Spanish colonizers brought the estofado cooking method to the Philippines centuries ago. Over time, Filipino cooks added soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar to the pot, and the dish became something new. You may see it spelled “lengua estofada” in some places. Both refer to the same recipe.

There are different regional takes worth knowing about. In the Western Visayas, the Ilonggo version uses muscovado sugar and coconut vinegar with saba bananas, which gives the sauce a sweeter, more tropical quality. Up in Pampanga, they have lengua pastel, which goes in a completely different direction with a creamy white sauce, button mushrooms, and young corn. My version leans closer to the Spanish-influenced style: diced tomatoes, white wine, green olives. What makes it Filipino is the soy sauce and vinegar.

Beef tongue is not cheap. In Chicago, where I lived for years, it used to be affordable at the wet market but prices have gone up everywhere. That is part of why this dish shows up mostly at celebrations. It takes real time and real money to prepare. But the result is worth it every time.

Why This Lengua Estofado Recipe Works

This lengua estofado recipe turns out well because of specific decisions in the cooking process.

• Dredging the tongue in flour before pan-frying does two things at once. It gives the slices a thin crust, and that flour dissolves into the sauce as it simmers, which is how you get a thick sauce without adding a thickener later.
• Diced tomatoes with white wine create an acidic base. Without the wine, the sauce is just a tomato stew. The wine lifts it.
• Soy sauce and vinegar in the same pot give the sauce a savory and tangy quality. I know it sounds like adobo seasoning, and honestly, the principle is similar. But the tomato and olive combination takes it somewhere else entirely.
• Reducing the sauce by half concentrates the flavor. Do not skip this step. A watery lengua estofado is a waste of expensive tongue.
• Olives and mushrooms going in toward the end stay firm and keep their texture. If you add them too early, the mushrooms turn to mush and the olives fall apart.

Ingredients

• Beef lengua (ox tongue) – boiled until fork-tender, then sliced
• All-purpose flour – for dredging before pan-frying
• Canned diced tomatoes – the tomato base of the sauce
• Beef powder – for a deeper savory flavor
• White wine – I use Pinot Grigio. Sauvignon Blanc also works.
• Yellow onion – minced
• Garlic – crushed and minced
• Brown sugar – softens the acidity from the tomatoes and vinegar
• Soy sauce – the Filipino signature in this stew
• Vinegar – just a small amount to brighten the sauce
• Bay leaves – for aroma
• Button mushrooms – sliced
• Green olives (pitted) – the Spanish touch
• Black olives – sliced
• Water – to loosen the sauce as needed
• Salt and ground black pepper – for final seasoning
• Cooking oil – for pan-frying

This lengua estofado recipe takes patience, especially the tenderizing step at the beginning. But the actual cooking moves quickly once the tongue is ready.

1. Heat cooking oil in a wide cooking pot over medium heat.
2. Dredge each slice of lengua in flour and shake off the excess. Pan-fry for about 1 minute per side until lightly browned. Set aside.
3. In the same pot, sauté the onion and garlic until the onion softens.
4. Pour in the diced tomatoes and white wine. Stir and let the mixture simmer for 2 minutes.

Do not wash the pot before adding the tomatoes. The browned bits from the tongue dissolve into the tomato mixture and add flavor you cannot get any other way.

1. Return the pan-fried beef lengua to the pot.
2. Stir in the soy sauce and water, then add the beef powder. Bring everything to a boil.
3. Add the bay leaves. Cover and cook over low heat until the sauce reduces to about half.
4. Pour in the vinegar. Let it re-boil without stirring.

Keep an eye on the liquid level. If it drops too fast, add a splash of water so the sauce does not stick and burn.

1. Add the brown sugar, green olives, black olives, and mushrooms. Toss to combine.
2. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes until the mushrooms soften and the olives warm through.
3. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
4. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve warm.

What to Serve with Lengua Estofado

• Steamed white rice – I eat this with rice every time. The sauce needs something to soak into.
• Sinangag (garlic fried rice) – The toasted garlic and the tomato-olive sauce go really well together
• Mashed potato – Not traditional, but it works. I tried this once when we had leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving.
• Garlic bread – for scooping up the sauce. My kids prefer this over rice sometimes.
• Asian cucumber Salad – the smokiness and vinegar cut through the richness of the stew

Storage

Lengua estofado stores well. The flavor actually improves overnight because the sauce has time to soak deeper into the meat.

• Refrigerator: Airtight container, up to 3 days. Sauce thickens when cold, which is normal. It loosens up when you reheat it.
• Freezer: Up to 2 months. Keep the sauce and meat in the same container so the tongue does not dry out.
• Reheating: Stovetop over medium-low heat. Add a tablespoon of water if the sauce is too thick. Microwave works in a pinch, but stovetop is better.

More Lengua Recipes

• Lengua in Mushroom Sauce ox tongue in a savory brown sauce with oyster sauce and Worcestershire
• Creamy Lengua in White Sauce with Mushroom an easy version with cream of mushroom and all-purpose cream
• Lengua Con Setas a simpler mushroom and soy sauce approach
• Creamy Lengua with Corn similar to pastel de lengua with sweet corn kernels
• Lengua Kare-Kare beef tongue in a thick peanut stew with vegetables and shrimp paste
• Lengua a la Vinagreta a cold appetizer with olive oil and vinegar marinade
• Pata Estofado pork knuckle in sweet soy and banana sauce, same estofado technique

• Beef tongue pork tongue works. It is smaller and cooks in about 30 minutes in the pressure cooker. Milder flavor, thinner slices, but the sauce makes up for it.
• White wine dry vermouth is a good substitute. You can also mix a small amount of rice wine vinegar with water.
• Green olives capers give a similar briny quality if olives are hard to find where you live.
• Canned diced tomatoes fresh ripe tomatoes, chopped small. A reader named Estela asked me about this, and yes, fresh tomatoes work. Just cook the sauce a few minutes longer.
• Beef powder a crumbled beef bouillon cube does the same job.
• Button mushrooms oyster mushrooms or shiitake will work, but the taste and texture shift a bit.

I was a teenager when I first made lengua estofado, and I am still cooking it the same way for my family during the holidays. My version has gotten better over the years, mostly because I learned to be more patient with the sauce and less afraid of the tongue. Give this recipe a try.