Dinuguan uses the inerds and blood of a pig to make a stew whose distinctive ingredient is vinegar. I surmise it's peasant fare as it uses parts that otherwise would just be thrown out by those with more affordable means; and the vinegar is used in order for the stew to last for a longer period of time.
As a matter of fact, dinuguan tastes better after a couple of days after it is cooked. Nana Meng would cook the dinuguan three days ahead of a fiesta and freeze this. Then each day she would take a layer of fat off the top of the frozen dinuguan. By the third day it would be perfect to eat.
It makes sense too, to dilute the fat. I have reason to believe that dinuguan fat can literally clog up your arteries. When we used to sell dinuguan with puto at the Salcedo Market, our sink konked out. We needed Moriatic acid to clean it. The plumber made us realize the sink was clogged by the leftover dinuguan that our maid would throw in the sink. Not to freak you out though. Obviously the human body has a different system. We CHEW and DIGEST.
Death sentence or not, to me, dinuguan is absolutely delish. The tart sourness of the stew and the softness of the inerds, matched with a creamy puto (sticky rice cake) is my idea of a perfect merienda in the afternoon!
