Filipino Bopis, Pig’s Heart Sauté

For a less challenging dish, I skipped over the cow’s penis at Dynasty Supermarket and opted for the pig’s heart instead. I could have used pig’s lungs, too, but they weren’t available during my visit. Moving away from Spain, I chose bopis [boh-peace] to show the Chinese influence in Filipino cooking. The ethnic Chinese settled in the Philippines even before Magellan set foot in 1521. If the Spanish military did not beat the Chinese (and the Japanese, the Dutch and the British, too), the country would have more similarities to China than Spain. Of course, no colonizer had to tell us that bopis is enjoyed with a cold bottle of beer.

Ingredients:
1 pig’s heart, thoroughly washed, boiled, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
4 sprigs of thyme
a handful of parsley, finely chopped
3 green chilis, sliced
1/4 cup of beef broth
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 small radish, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup vinegar
salt, pepper, oil

1. In a wok, sauté garlic and onion in hot oil. Add heart and season with salt and pepper and chilis. Cook for 5 minutes until golden brown.
2. Add vegetables and vinegar. Boil without stirring. Add beef broth and simmer until liquid evaporates. It’s perfect when you’re scraping brown bits from the bottom of your wok.

Related post/s:
Offal in Filipino cooking
Where to buy a pig’s heart