Chicken menudo

I call this my great extended recipe. See, one 800 gram pack of chicken thigh fillets can feed as many as eight persons if you know how to extend it.

chicken menudo

By adding vegetables, you double the bulk. But that doesn’t mean you have to dilute the flavors too. Add a piece of chorizo de bilbao and your chicken menudo won’t look like a budget noche buena dish at all.

The same principle applies to pork but pork cooks twice as long. Besides, when the pork fat melts, the pork pieces shrink tremendously and you’ll end up with much less meat. That’s why I prefer chicken thighs.


Ingredients :

1 pack of chicken thigh fillets, about 800 grams
4 potatoes, about 400 grams
1 carrot
3 bell peppers OR 3/4 c. of frozen sweet peas
1 chorizo de bilbao
1/4 c. of raisins
1/2 kilo of plump tomatoes or 1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 large white onion
half a head of garlic
1 bay leaf
6 tbsps. of olive oil (you can get away with vegetable cooking oil)
salt
pepper
a little sugar

Cooking procedure :

Pat each chicken thigh fillet dry with kitchen towels. Cut each into small pieces, about 1-inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper.

Peel the potatoes and the carrot and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (when the chicken pieces shrink during cooking, they will end up the same size as the carrot and potato cubes).

Peel the onion and roughly chop.

Peel, crush and chop the garlic.

Core the bell peppers, cut off the veins and remove the seeds. Dice.

If using fresh tomatoes, cut them up. If using canned, transfer the contents to a bowl and crush the tomatoes with your hands, leaving some chunks for a better looking chicken menudo.

Slice the chorizo then cut each slice into three or four parts (extend it, baby!).

Heat the oil in a large pan (non-stick pan is really useful). When hot, add the chicken pieces and cook until they change color. Next, add the chopped onion, garlic, potatoes and carrot cubes and cook for about 5 minutes over high heat. Add the rest of the ingredients. Season with salt, pepper and a little sugar (to cut down the acidity of the tomatoes). Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

As with most stews, this chicken menudo dish is best after reheating. Serve with pan de sal instead of rice for a change.

December 11, 2007  Print This Post   
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Comments

6 Responses to “Chicken menudo”
  1. mesclun says:

    i’m outnumbered by people who prefer white meat over dark in my household – do you think it’ll be ok if i use chicken breasts fillets instead of chicken thighs?
    thanks.

  2. Connie says:

    mesclun, I wouldn’t recommend chicken breast meat for this.

  3. Luz says:

    Hi Connie,Do you think It’s better to add chicken liver?

  4. Connie says:

    Luz, oh yes! If my kids were liver lovers, I would added chicken livers.

  5. Marivi says:

    Can i use tomato paste or tomato sauce instead? If yes, how much?

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