IGADO

 

 

Igado is a popular Ilocano dish made from

strips of meat, liver, and other internal organs

such as kidney, heart, and intestines. This dish

 reflects the influence of the Spanish cuisine as the

 name "Igado" was derived from the Spanish term

 "higado" which means "liver". A tell-tale story was

 once told that the Spaniards pronounced it as Higado

 but was understood by the natives in the region as

 Igado. Time passed and the name Igado was

accepted as one of the popular Ilocano dishes

 

 

 

Although Igado originated during the Spanish

 era, there is still a touch of a Filipino flair.

 In analogy, while the natives like to cook the

 meat and innards of the pork, the Spaniards

 introduced the cooking technique of sautéing.
This dish would not be an Igado without liver

as the majority of the ingredients. There are

many ways to prepare Igado depending on the

 available ingredients at hand and what part

 of Ilocano region where you are. It can be

 prepared using the pork's meat and all four

 internal organs such as liver, heart, kidney,

and intestines. You can also use the most common

combination of liver and meat or it's up to you to

 choose your own combinations.

 

 

 

 As long as you are using liver as the majority

 of the ingredients, you are on the right tract

of preparing Igado. Other variations include the

 dish as being oily, soupy, dry and meaty,

salty-sour or sweet-sour-salty in taste. Also,

someone might want to use the tenderloin

 of the pork while another wants to use the

pork belly. Other ingredients that you can

 use includes green peas, bell pepper, finger

 chili (siling haba), bay leaf, potato, carrot,

 salt, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, onion,

 ginger, and garlic. No wonder why there is

always a variation because it's impractical to

 combine all these ingredients into a single recipe.

 

 

 

 

Igado is a regional Filipino delicacy with

 fatty pork loin meat and pork liver cooked

with red bell pepper and peas, in a

salty-sour sauce. I love this dish but

 never had the gumption to make it until my

 friend indulged me with their family���s Ilocano

recipe. The Ilocanos are people from the

 northern part of the Philippines. In my home

 country, different regions have different

 traditional dishes with distinct tastes, but

there���s one common characteristic about

 Filipino dishes — they try to make as much

use of what���s available from the ingredients.

 Call it the Third-World Factor���, not Fodder

 For Fear Factor���. Take igado, for example,

 instead of throwing out the skin with fat, it is

 cubed and fried until crispy; and except for

 the excess oil, the whole pork loin is used.

 

 

 

I know it sounds absolutely horrible and

 will send nutritionists and dietitians screaming

 out the door, but these are SO good to eat

even on their own [disclaimer: Enjoy at your

own risk. Don't even think about eating the

 fried fat if you have heart, high blood,

 cholesterol or other health-related problems].

 It���s used to flavor a lot of dishes, including

 boiled green mung beans. Eat in

moderation, I always say.
Igado is an excellent make-head viand,

 just like Adobo. It tastes even better the

day after, just make sure to keep it cold in

 the fridge and re-heat before serving. If

 you���re not into offal, you can skip the liver,

but it wouldn���t taste the same. Perhaps you���ve

been on the fence about finally trying liver and

 you���re just waiting for the recipe, consider making this.

 

 

 

 

Igado (Filipino Pork Meat and Liver Stew)

 

Ingredients

 

▪    1 3/4 lb pork loin with fat and skin

 (remove fat with the and cut into 1-cm

 dices; cut remaining pork meat into fries-like strips)

 

▪    3/4 lb pork liver (cut into fries-like strips)

 

▪    1 cup frozen peas

 

▪    1 red bell pepper cut in thin strips

similar in width to the meat and liver

 

▪    1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

 

▪    1 tsp minced garlic

 

▪    1/3 + 1/6 cup white vinegar (the best

kind to use is sugar cane vinegar)

 

▪    1/3 cup soy sauce

 

▪    a pinch of salt + 1 tsp.

 

▪    1 tsp freshly ground pepper

 

▪    2 whole bay leaves

 

 

Preparation

 

1)    In medium heat, cook diced pork skin with

 fat. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt until crunchy bit

 are left. Transfer them into a small container.

 Throw away the oil but leave about 1 tablespoon in the pan.

 

2)    Sauté onions in the fat oil until translucent.

 Add minced garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.

 

3)    Add liver strips and pork meat. Sauté with

 the onion for a minute, then pour 1/3 cup of

 vinegar into the mixture. Cover and cook in

 med-high heat for 5 minutes.

 

4)    Stir in soy sauce, cover for another 2 minutes.

 

5)    Add in the crunchy pork fat with skin

from #1, 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper,

 and 1/6 cup vinegar. Stir. Cover and leave to cook for 7 minutes.

 

6)    Lower heat to medium. Add frozen peas

 and red bell pepper strips. Wait for it to boil then

 cover for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

 

7)    Drop 2 bay leaves into the stew and mix it in. Don���t crush. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

 

8)    Serve with rice.

Note: This is an excellent make-ahead viand

 that tastes even better the next day or two. Just

 put in the fridge and leave the bay leaves until

 after you re-heat it before eating.