Bopis

Bopis is a Filipino dish made from minced pig's heart and lungs. Sounds strange, doesn't it? I wonder if there are many people in the world who enjoy eating pig's lungs and heart. This dish goes well with alcohol but it goes just as well with steamed rice.

I don't remember where I first tasted this, but I loved it at first bite. It has a very unique flavor and texture. I really wanted to cook this before but never got the chance; I wasn't cooking much back then. One Sunday, I decided to cook it. I got the recipe from Panlasang Pinoy and in this post I'm posting the measurements of the ingredients as posted in that website. In reality, I don't follow measurements listed in recipes because I always adjust them according to my taste. Just use the measurements as a guide and adjust them according to your taste bud's preference. 

The ingredients are not difficult to find; at least in the Philippines.

Here are what you would need in cooking Bopis:

pig's lungs and heart (boiled in lemon grass and pandan leaves)

1/2 cup annatto seeds diluted in 1 cup of water

1 small carrot, minced

4 - 6 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons bird's eye chili, minced

2 tablespoons ginger, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 - 4 pieces dried bay leaves

1 cup water

3 tablespoons cooking oil

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

No amount of pig's heart and lungs is indicated because I bought one heart and a pair of lungs, I forgot how much they weighed. Boiling them in lemon grass and pandan is essential because it will remove the unpleasant odor of the lungs and heart. Mincing would take a lot of time. It took me more than an hour, maybe it was because I was watching a drama while mincing. Multi-tasking.

After mincing, you're now ready to start the actual cooking of bopis. First, heat the pan and put the oil in it. When the oil is hot enough, put the onion, garlic, and ginger. After about a minute or when the garlic turns brown, put the bird's eye chili and saute further for about 30 seconds.

Put the minced lungs and heart and cook for about 5 minute. Stir every once in a while. Pour in annatto water, that is, the water where you soaked the annatto seeds. Don't forget to strain.

Add 1 cup of water and the dried bay leaves. Simmer until the liquid evaporates. Add the carrots and simmer for 3 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir.

Add the vinegar and leave for about 8 minutes over medium heat. be careful not to stir it right after adding the vinegar. I was told that you can't stir anything with vinegar until it has started simmering. Well, from experience, I think that it really gives you good results if you avoid stirring before the vinegar simmers. I finally understood why my "adobo" tasted strange back then.

I actually thought I cooked a lot of it, but we ate it all up. Happy tummy!