Dinuguan

A bowl of dinuguan

Dinuguan (also called dinardaraan in Ilocano, or pork blood stew in English) is a Filipino savory stew of blood and meat simmered in a rich, spicy gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili and vinegar. The term dinuguan comes from the word dugo meaning "blood". It is recognizably thick and dark, hence the Westernized euphemism "chocolate meat." It is similar to the Singapore dish pig's organ soup, differing in that it does not contain vegetables and has a characteristically thick gravy. It is frequently considered an unusual or alarming dish to those in Western culture, though it is rather similar to European-style blood sausage, or British black pudding in a saucy stew form. It is perhaps closer in appearance and preparation to the ancient Spartan dish known as black gruel whose primary ingredients were pork, vinegar and blood. Dinuguan is often served with white rice or a Filipino rice cake called puto.

A similar dish is also known among the Bataks of Indonesia, called sangsang. Sangsang is made from pork or dog meat (or more rarely, water buffalo meat), coconut milk and spices (including kaffir lime and bay leaves, coriander, shallot, garlic, chili pepper and Thai pepper, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, turmeric and andaliman (the fruit of a native shrub similar to Sichuan pepper)).

Sangsang has special significance to the Bataks, as it is an obligatory dish in Batak marriage celebrations.