Tokwa Menudo Recipe

IMAGE Stephanie Cueva

What are the ingredients in a menudo recipe? The list will include pork and liver cut into small cubes that will be simmered in a super savory sauce made from tomato sauce, soy sauce, and the sweetness from the raisins. You'll also find potatoes and carrots cut up into small pieces roughly the size of the pork, too. 

This is what you'll normally get in a classic bowl of this ulam recipe but if you're going meatless, you can definitely swap the pork for a meatless option such as tokwa or tofu. 

Going meatless when cooking is all about knowing how to treat the meat substitute in the dish you're trying to make. It can be as simple as tossing pre-fried tokwa into a pot of sauce. It can even be opening a package of freshly made tofu and serving it as is. You just let it get heated up in a little broth such as the case may be when making a miso soup. 

For those who miss the taste of regular ulam meals but are making it with tokwa, you can add it in and let the sauce heat up the tokwa as it simmers or you can add in the extra step of frying the tokwa first. Frying the tokwa makes the outside golden brown but it also creates a firmer barrier to prevent the tokwa from disintegrating easily when tossed around in the sauce. With a thickened sauce as in the menudo, you'll want that extra layer of protection so the tokwa can not only withstand the tossing but also absorb and keep that delicious sauce in.