Blood, so sacred, so holy, and... sooooo delicious! Let's have a look of one of the famous and delicious dish Philippines can offer to you: "Dinuguan"

We Filipino's are so creative that we don't want to waste any part of a living livestock. It may include skin, foot, claws/nails, intestines,bones and even blood... Though it may sound so scary and nasty the taste is so good you want to eat it so badly!

Dinuguan (also called sinugaok in Batangas, zinagan in Ibanag, twik in Itawis, tid-tad in Kapampangan, dinardaraan in Ilocano, dugo-dugo in Cebuano, rugodugo in Waray, sampayna or champayna in Northern Mindanao and tinumis in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. Another name for dinuguan is "chocolate meat") is a dish in which pig's blood are mixed together in a stew of innards, pig's face, meat and etc. And after stirring it for a couple of minutes voila! A black stew is ready to be eaten by your hungry stomach. The blood made the stew's flavor elebate to another level. The sourness of the soup because of the gentle mixture of vinegar to the meat, the rich flavor caused by the blood itself! and of of course the juicy meat that is slowy sauted with garlic and onions, and seasoned with different herbs and spices, enhanced its flavor by adding the vinegar and blood, bringing out Its most delicious flavor.

Though there are many different stories about the origin of Dinuguan, folks from Masantol said that Dinuguan is considered to be the "Ulam bayu ing handaan"(The Dish before the Celebration). One of the person we interviewed is Apung "Aning", as she said that in her younger days after they slaughter the pig for a celebration, they would drain its blood, get its innards and there they will cook the black stew - dinuguan. As apong Aning said that they would share the dish to those who helped them slaughter the pig. Same applies to the two other persons that we have interviewed "Apung Viring" and "Ate Angel",That in the past days,  whenever they will slaughter a pig for celebration(.People of the Masantol mostly raise pig back then in preparation for a huge celebration.) they would not waste the blood and innards instead they will cook them to have dinuguan and share it among their cooks and workers. But a Calenderia owner Mrs. Seling said that dinuguan is basically just kilawin, the only difference is the blood to make the stew have a much deeper flavor

Dinuguan don't just apply to pig. Some variations of dinuguan includes duck's blood, birds (Typically Whis' blood) and even chicken! It has the same procedure, but most of the time the meat being used is similar to the source of the blood.

Here's a recipe if you want to taste this wonder black stew called Dinuguan. 

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. pork shoulder, cubed
• 1 lb. pork large intestine, cleaned thoroughly (optional)
• 1 to 1½ cups pig blood
• 2 to 3 pieces banana pepper
• 2 thumbs ginger, minced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
• 2 cups water
• ¾ cup cane or white vinegar
• 1 piece pork cube (optional)
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a cooking pot.
2. Saute the garlic, onion, and ginger.
3. Add the intestine. Saute for 3 minutes.
4. Add the pork. Cook until light brown.
5. Pour the water in and add the pork cube. Let it boil. Simmer until the pork becomes tender.
6. Pour the vinegar in the cooking pot. Let it re-boil.
7. Add the banana peppers. Cook for 3 minutes.
8. Stir-in the pig blood and make sure to continuously stir during the first minute to avoid the blood from forming. Cook in low to medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Serve with rice or puto.

There you have it! our delicious dinuguan! now we know why vampire loves blood. have fun!