Menudo with Raisins and Green Peas
This recipe features a version of menudo but, this time, with raisins and peas. Menudo is often enjoyed during celebrations, such as fiestas and family gatherings, alongside other traditional recipes like beef kaldereta and pork hamonado. If you want to make your menudo more exciting and beautiful, this recipe is for you.
How To Cook Menudo with Raisins and Green Peas
marinating the pork
First, combine sliced pork with 1/4 cup of soy sauce and half of the minced garlic. Mix thoroughly and let it marinate for 10 minutes. The marinating process allows the ingredients to penetrate the pork, resulting in a more delicious menudo!
Sautéing the Hotdogs
Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the sliced hotdogs and sauté them for 1 minute until they are slightly browned. Once done, set them aside on a plate to keep warm for later use.
Sautéing the Liver
Next, in the same pan, sauté 1 chopped onion until it softens and becomes translucent. This usually takes about 2-3 minutes. Then, add the cubed pig’s liver and continue to sauté for an additional 2 minutes. After cooking, remove the liver from the pan and set it aside.
Building a Flavor Base with Onion and Garlic
Now, heat the remaining cooking oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and sauté until it starts to turn golden brown, releasing a rich aroma that fills the kitchen. Next, add the remaining chopped onion and cook until it softens, about 3-4 minutes. This forms a fragrant base that is essential in this menudo with raisins and peas recipe.
Cooking the Pork in Tomato Sauce
Add the marinated cubed pork to the pot and stir well to coat it in the flavorful mixture. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, to sear the meat and lock in the juices. After that, pour in the tomato sauce and add 1 ½ cups of water. Cover the pot and allow the liquid to come to a boil, which helps mix all the flavors together.
simmering after adding bay leaves and raisins
Once the mixture reaches a boil, add the dried bay leaves and raisins. Lower the heat to a simmer and continue cooking until the pork becomes tender, which may take about 30-40 minutes.
adding sautéed meat and veggies
Next, return the sautéed liver and hotdogs to the pot. Stir well to combine all the ingredients. Then, you can evenly distribute the cubed carrots and potatoes. Cover the pot and cook for 8 minutes, allowing the vegetables to soften while retaining some crunch.
seasoning and incorporating peas
Finally, stir in the frozen green peas and sprinkle in the Maggi Magic Sarap seasoning. Cook for another 3 minutes, allowing the peas to warm through. Season the dish with fish sauce and ground black pepper to taste, adjusting to your preference for a balanced flavor.
Transfer the delicious menudo with raisins and peas to a serving plate. Share and enjoy this recipe with people you love!
Vanjo’s Advice
A few things worth knowing before you cook this version.
- This is the special occasion menudo, not the everyday one. Mom made this version for fiestas, Noche Buena, and family gatherings. Not for a regular Tuesday dinner. The everyday version, which is the original pork menudo recipe, is what you cook when you just want menudo. This one with the raisins and peas is what you bring out when there is a reason to. Most Philippine fiestas serve menudo with raisins. That is where this version belongs.
- The raisins are not optional in a fiesta version. I know some readers do not like raisins in savory dishes. I get that, my own kids took a while to come around. But raisins are what separate fiesta menudo from regular menudo. That mild sweetness pulling against the tomato and the pork is the whole point. If you skip the raisins, you are basically just making the everyday version with peas added. Use the raisins or do not make this version, that is honestly my take.
- Add the raisins at the simmer stage, not at the start. I have made the mistake of throwing raisins in too early back when I was still figuring out the timing. They blow up, get mushy, and disappear into the sauce. Add them when the pork is simmering with the tomato sauce and water, not before. That way they plump up but still hold their shape when you bite into one.
- Use frozen peas, not canned. Canned peas are too soft for this dish. They turn to paste the second they hit the hot sauce. Frozen peas hold their bite and their color. Add them in the last 3 minutes only, just enough to warm through. Cooking them longer is what gives you that dull army-green color you sometimes see on menudo.
- Sauté the liver separately. This applies to every menudo I make. Sautéing the cubed liver in onion first and setting it aside keeps the texture clean. Liver simmered for 40 minutes with the pork turns chalky and the flavor goes flat. Two minutes of sautéing is all it needs. Add it back in toward the end.
- Pork shoulder, every time. Same advice as the original recipe. Pork shoulder, also called kasim or pork butt, has the marbling that holds up to a long simmer. Lean cuts dry out. I learned this the hard way one Christmas when I tried to use pork loin to save a few pesos. Never again.
Health Benefits Of Raisins And Peas
Raisins and peas add many health benefits to this menudo recipe. Raisins are sweet and provide quick energy. They’re sweet because they contain natural sugars, primarily fructose and glucose. These sugars are easily absorbed by the body, making raisins a quick source of energy. They also have antioxidants that help protect your cells from damage.
Moreover, green peas in this recipe are full of protein, fiber, and vitamins. They support good digestion and help you feel full. Making this menudo recipe means creating a flavor-packed and nutritious version! Imagine the sauce (sarsa) of menudo enveloping your rice. Are you getting hungry now? Let’s follow this recipe, and take a look at the list of ingredients below.
This recipe includes the essential ingredients typically found in menudo. It’s best not to change the ingredients to achieve the ideal blend of raisins and peas in our menudo recipe.
Menudo With Raisins And Green Peas Ingredients
- Pork shoulder – The main meat for menudo. Cut it into even cubes so it cooks evenly and becomes tender. Pork shoulder or kasim works best because it has enough fat for simmering.
- Pork liver – Adds the familiar earthy flavor that makes Filipino menudo taste complete. Menudo is just not the same without it.
- Raisins – Add a little sweetness that balances the tomato sauce. They plump up as the menudo cooks and give small bursts of flavor in every spoonful.
- Green peas – Add color and gentle sweetness. Add near the end so they keep their shape and bright color.
- Red bell pepper – Adds color and mild sweetness. Cut it into squares so it matches the pork, potatoes, and carrots on the spoon.
- Green bell pepper – Goes in with the red bell pepper for more color and a light pepper flavor.
- Carrots – Add sweetness and color to the stew. Cut them evenly so they cook at the same pace as the potatoes.
- Potatoes – Absorb the tomato sauce and help make the dish more filling. Cubing them helps them cook faster and blend well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Hotdogs – A common Filipino addition to menudo. They add a smoky flavor and tender bite that many of us grew up enjoying.
- Tomato sauce – Gives menudo its rich tomato base. It brings the pork, liver, vegetables, and hotdogs together in one savory sauce.
- Yellow onions – Add sweetness and body to the sauce. Sautéing them first helps build the flavor of the stew.
- Garlic – Gives the menudo a good aroma and savory base. Let it cook until fragrant before adding the next ingredients.
- Dried bay leaves – Add a mild aroma while the pork simmers. A few leaves are enough for the whole pot.
- Soy sauce – Seasons the pork before cooking and adds a deeper color to the sauce.
- Beef powder – Adds savory flavor and helps round out the sauce without using too many seasonings.
- Cooking oil – Used for frying the carrots and potatoes and for sautéing the aromatics.
- Water – Helps the pork simmer until tender and gives the sauce the right consistency.
- Sugar – Balances the acidity of the tomato sauce. You only need a little so the menudo stays savory.
- Fish sauce and ground black pepper – Finish the dish. Add them at the end and adjust to your taste..
How To Serve This Dish
This recipe is best served with hot white rice. After enjoying this satisfying lunch, a fizzy soda or a refreshing glass of juice makes a great addition! This menudo with raisins and peas will leave you feeling full for hours. Some like to add fish sauce (patis) and chili flakes, which are added as a few drops onto each spoonful of rice and meat. This optional addition totally elevates the dish for those who prefer a saltier and spicier flavor. If you prefer a version with less “gamey” flavor from the pig’s liver, consider using ginger when sautéing, which you can check in this recipe. This way, you can enjoy a delicious meal that everyone will love!
Watch How to Make It
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Menudo with Raisins and Green Peas
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork cubed
- 1/2 lb. pig’s liver cubed
- 3 hotdogs sliced diagonally
- 2 potatoes peeled and cubed
- 2 carrots peeled and cubed
- 2 yellow onions chopped
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 3/4 cups green peas frozen
- 3 pieces dried bay leaves
- 15 oz. tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 ½ cups water
- 5 tablespoons cooking oil
- 8 grams Maggi Magic Sarap
- fish sauce and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine sliced pork with soy sauce and half of the minced garlic. Mix well and marinate for 10 minutes.5 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 lbs. pork
- Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a pan. Sauté the hotdogs for 1 minute, then set aside. Sauté 1 onion until it softens. Add the liver and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Remove the liver from the pan and set aside.1/2 lb. pig’s liver, 3 hotdogs , 5 tablespoons cooking oil, 2 yellow onions
- Heat the remaining cooking oil in a cooking pot. Add the remaining garlic and sauté until it starts to brown. Then, add the remaining onion and continue sautéing until it softens.5 cloves garlic
- Add the marinated pork meat and stir. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the tomato sauce into the pot, stir, and then add water. Cover the pot and let the liquid boil.2 lbs. pork , 15 oz. tomato sauce, 1 ½ cups water
- Add the bay leaves and raisins. Adjust the heat to a simmer and continue cooking until the pork is completely tender. Add the sautéed liver and hotdogs, then stir.3 pieces dried bay leaves, 1/2 cup raisins
- Next, add the carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook for 8 minutes. Add the green peas to the pot along with Maggi Magic Sarap. Cook for 3 minutes.2 potatoes, 2 carrots, 8 grams Maggi Magic Sarap, 3/4 cups green peas
- Season with fish sauce and ground black pepper. Transfer to a serving plate and serve. Share and enjoy!fish sauce and ground black pepper to taste
B. Marquez says
Hi Vanjo, thank you for sharing your recipes! Sayo ako natuto mag luto. Now I can literally says that I’m a wife and mom to my 2 wonderful kids! Again thank you so much! Your from Chicago? I’m from Carol Stream.
Vanjo Merano says
Hello B. Marquez, thanks for always trying our recipes. Good to know that you are located within Chicgaoland too,
Joanne Jhoie says
I’m gonna try cooking this for the first time! Yay!
florence says
Hi! I really like ur recipes. Keep cooking & more power! God bless! 🙂
Jo-Anne Ponce says
Hello! I love your recipes. Made my life easier 🙂 how do i subscribe to the recipe ebook?
jocelyn quetoriano says
instead of tomato sauce can i use prego italian sause(traditional)
Jocelyn says
looks yummy try this soon
gian santos says
thanks man. big help
Athena says
Thanks
Vanjo Merano says
you are welcome
Gresilda Ubalde says
Power…