Igado Recipe

This Igado Recipe (igado meaning; ‘liver’ from the Ilocos Region of the Philippines. Which is also the most featured ingredient in the dish)  is one of the Ilocano foods recipes that really showcases the pork meat and pork liver. An aromatic dish made of pork chunks, pork liver, soy sauce, calamansi juice, pepper, garlic, onions, a pork broth cube, dry bay leaves, water, liver spread, vinegar, carrot, bell peppers, and green peas. An easy peasy dish that just takes a few steps, marinating, then sautéing a few ingredients, then letting the dish simmer for most of the time.

Igado Recipe :

Ingredients

• 1 kilo pork ( chopped to cubes )
• ½ kilo pork liver ( chopped to cubes )
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce ( separated for the marinade )
• 3 tablespoons calamansi juice ( separated for the marinade )
• 1 & ½  teaspoon pepper
• 5 cloves garlic ( minced )
• 1 large onion ( chopped )
• 1 piece pork broth cube
• 4 pieces dried bay leaves
• 1 to 2 cups water
• 1 small can Reno liver spread
• 2 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 medium carrot ( sliced )
• 2 medium bell peppers ( sliced )
• ½ cup green peas
• Oil for sautéing

Steps:

1. Marinate the pork liver with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon calamansi juice, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix well and let this marinate for 1 hour. In another container, mix together pork, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons calamansi juice, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Mix well and marinade for 1 hour.
2. After; In a pan, heat some oil and cook the liver until it changes in color.  Take this out and set aside. Then cook the pork until it also changes in color. Saute in garlic and onions. 
3. Pour in the marinade sauce, add the pork broth cube, bay leaves, and water. Mix, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until pork is tender. The fork should easily pierce through the meat.
4. Add back the pork liver, mix in liver spread. Pour in vinegar, do not stir for 1 – 2 minutes. Then add carrots, bell peppers, and green peas. Mix well.
5. Cover and simmer for 5 – 7 minutes before serving.

Igado History

“Igado” in Tagalog or rather “Igado” in Ilocano and in Spanish, this dish originates from the Ilocos Region where the term is used, meaning ‘liver’. This dish is beloved by many Filipinos, one such famous figure is Elpidio Quirino the 6th President of the Philippines who was also an Illocano. The dish is usually a mix of pork meat and liver, sometimes with offal (organs), a dish that closely resembles menudo but without the tomato and tomato sauce. Instead Igado uses soy sauce and vinegar. Aside from the meats, vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, potatoes, and green peas are also added to make the dish look more lively. Nowadays there are a lot more options for this dish, from changing the meat to chicken or beef, adding whichever more aromatics of vegetables that you’d like and more.

How to cook igado ilocano recipe? It starts by marinating the pork liver and pork chunks separately with soy sauce, calamansi juice, and pepper for at least 1 hour. After these are ready, heat up a bit of oil in a pan and cook the marinated liver until these change in color, take these out then cook the marinated pork chunks, saute them until the pork also changes in color. Then add in the aromatics-garlic and onions, giving these a good mix until it smells aromatic. After, pour in the remaining marinade sauce, a pork broth cube, bay leaves to help remove any foul smells the meat might have, then water to help with the simmering. Give the pot/pan a good stir then color and simmer for more or less 30 minutes until the pork is tender enough that you can easily piece the meat with a fork. Add back the pork liver, mix in the liver spread, then pour in vinegar. After you’ve poured the vinegar you want to keep it as, not stirring until the vinegar smell evaporates. This can take 1 – 2 minutes or until there isn’t much of the vinegar smell in the dish. Then add in sliced carrots, bell pepper, and green peas. Give this a good mix then cover and simmer for a few minutes until the vegetables feel tender. Serve with a good amount of freshly cooked white rice. Great as a lunch meal to bring anywhere from the school or office or as a premade dinner that just needs a few minutes in the microwave or heat up in the pan until warm.

Igado Recipe Questions:

• Igado calories ?

For a cup there are around 300 – 350 calories.

• Other meats to use for “Igado recipes”
  • “Beef Igado” or “Igado Beef” is a popular substitute. Using sliced or cubed beef instead of pork chunks, also changing pork liver into beef liver. Simmering time may take longer as beef might need a longer time to tenderize ( depending on how big of a chunk these are ).
  • Another Igado ilocano style dish is the “Chicken Igado recipe” using chicken liver and chicken heart instead of the chicken ‘meat’. But if you want to use the meat, replace these with chicken breasts and or chicken thighs. Sliced a bit smaller.
  • Aside from pork belly, you can also use other parts of the pork like pork shoulder.
  • Likewise if you prefer. You can also make chicken, beef, or pork igado without a liver recipe. Use or add ingredients you’d like to make the dish better for you.

• Additional ingredients ?
  • For a more filling and colorful dish. Make “Igado Recipe with Potato and Carrots”
  • Add in canned chickpeas or garbanzos. Make it to strain these and wash them under running water to keep it from being ‘slimy’.
  • To make it spicier, add in chillies at the end with the green peas.

Other Yummy Pork Liver Recipes!

• Pork Liver Steak
• Pork Menudo ( a tomato stewed pork, pork liver, and sausage dish )
• Pork Caldereta ( another version of the Filipino tomato stewed pork )
• Pork Sisig ( savory ground pork and liver served in a sizzling plate )
• Adobong Atay with green Beans ( liver and green beans adobo )

Igado Resipi: (Tagalog version)

Mga Sangkap :

• 1 kilo baboy ( hiniwa ng pa parisukat )
• ½ kilo atay ng baboy ( hiniwa ng pa parisukat )
• 5 kutsarang soy sauce ( ihiwalay para sa marinade )
• 3 kutsarang calamansi juice ( ihiwalay para sa marinade )
• 1 at ½ kutsaritang paminta
• 5 butil ng bawang ( tinadtad )
• 1 malaking sibuyas ( tinadtad )
• 1 piraso pork broth cube
• 4 piraso dahon ng laurel
• 1 o 2 tasa ng tubig
• 1 maliit na lata ng Reno liver spread
• 2 kutsarang suka
• 1 karot ( hiniwa ng pahaba )
• 2 kampanilyang paminta ( hiniwa ng pahaba )
• ½ tasa green peas
• Mantika panluto

Paano Lutuin :

1. Imarinate ang atay, ihalo ito ng 2 kutsarang soy sauce, 1 kutsarang calamansi juice, at ½ kutsaritang paminta. Itabi ito ng 1 oras. Sa ibang lalagyanan haluin ang baboy, 3 kutsarang soy sauce, kutsarang calamansi juice, at 1 kutsarang paminta. Haluin ng mabuti at imarinade ng 1 oras.
2. Pagkatapos; Sa kawali, initin ang mantika at lutuin ang mga atay hanggang magiba ng kulay. Tanggalin at itabi. Pagkatapos, lutuin ang mga baboy hanggang magiba din ito ng kulay. Isama dito ang mga bawang at sibuyas.
3. Ibuhos ang natirang sarsa, at ihalo dito ang pork broth cube, lay leaves, at tubig. Takpan at pakuluan ng 30 minuto o hanggang lumambot ang mga baboy. Malalaman kung malambot na ito kung mabilis na itong tusukin ng tinidor.
4. Isama dito ang atay ang liver spread. Buhusan ng suka at wah haluin ng 1 – 2 minuto. Haluan ng karots, kampanilyang paminta, at green peas.
5. Takpan at pakuluin ng 5 – 7 minuto bago ihanda.