A spin on Filipino menudo, the addition of green chilies and bird’s eye chilies makes it a spicy dish. Sweet sultanas provide a counterbalance to the heat of the chilies.
Cook’s notes
Serve the meat over rice, top with thinly sliced omelette and you have a one-bowl dish that looks nothing like the carinderia fare that inspired this recipe.
What’s a carinderia? An eatery. In the Philippines, it means a humble eatery that serves simple, inexpensive and uncomplicated meals.
Two varieties of chili are used in this dish. Chili varieties have different flavors and levels of heat. Bird’s eye chilies are for the heat; green chilies are for that lovely sweet-savory flavor.
Yes, some chilies are actually sweet. The long green chilies in the markets here are like that. The heat is subtle and the sweetness is more pronounced. That means I can use a generous amount without worrying about burning my mouth — especially if the seeds and membranes, where most of the heat is concentrated, are discarded.
And what are sultanas? “Golden raisins” is the other name by which they are known. Like dark raisins, they are dried grapes. They are just dried a little differently so that the color remains light. If you’re wondering if you may substitute regular dark raisins, the answer is yes.
Sweet sour ground pork stew with tomatoes, chilies and sultanas
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 200 grams potatoes (about 7 oz) peeled and cut into small cubes
- 2 shallots peeled and chopped
- 4 long green chilies (seeds and membranes discarded) thinly sliced
- 2 bird’s eye chilies thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 400 grams ground pork (about 14 oz)
- salt
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- ⅓ to ½ cup sultanas
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan.
- Cook the potatoes in the hot oil just until the edges start to brown. Scoop out and set aside.
- In the remaining oil, over medium heat, saute the shallots and chilies until softened.
- Add the garlic and continue sauteeing for another minute.
- Turn up the heat, stir in the ground pork, sprinkle in a teaspoon of salt and cook until the meat is lightly browned.
- Pour in the chopped tomatoes and stir.
- Add the fried potato cubes and sultanas.
- Simmer, covered, for ten minutes.
- Taste and add more salt, if needed.
- We love this spicy ground pork dish with rice. If you’re not a rice eater, it’s equally good as a sandwich filling.
Soy sesame scallion noodles