Chocolate Meat

In response to a comment on my last post, I thought I would shed a little light...

Courtesy of Wikipedia with bolded commentary by Uncle Jimmy:

Dinuguan -

... 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 (Mmm... spicy gravy of blood and vinegar. What a delightful flavor combination. I first learned of its splendor back when I was being tortured in POW camp. Ahh... Now those were the days). The term dinuguan comes from the word dugo meaning "blood" (naturally). It is recognizably thick and dark, hence the Westernized euphemism "chocolate meat." (sound of me throwing up in my own mouth). It is similar to the Singapore dish pig's organ soup, differing in that it does not contain vegetables (thank God) and has a characteristically thick gravy.

Due to the offal it is frequently considered an unusual or alarming dish to those in Western culture (I'm not sure it's the offal that's throwing me off), though it is rather similar to European-style blood sausage, or British black pudding in a saucy stew form (hmm... interesting synopsis). It is perhaps closer in appearance and preparation to the ancient Spartan dish (its only redeeming quality) known as black gruel (that's bad ass) whose primary ingredients were pork, vinegar and blood (this dish actually kicked your f*@%ing ass after you ate it). Dinuguan is often served with white rice or a Filipino rice cake called puto (Whatever dude. Don't try to make yourself look better now. You're made of blood and vinegar... 'chocolate meat' remember?).

A similar dish is also known among the Bataks of Indonesia, called sangsang (I do like the name...). Sangsang is made from pork or dog meat (Wow. That really happens? I need to travel more) or more rarely, water buffalo meat, coconut milk and spices ...

Sangsang has special significance to the Bataks, as it is an obligatory dish in Batak marriage celebrations (Oh dang. I would be dying old and alone).

Having said all of that, all kidding aside, I haven't but I would eat the shit out of Dinuguan. Anyone serving it in Philly do you think?