Pancita
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| Place of origin | Mexico |
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| Main ingredients | Beef Tripe (cow stomach), broth, lime, onions, cilantro, oregano, red chili peppers |
| Variations | Menudo colorado (made with chili rather than broth) |
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Menudo, or pancita ([little] gut or [little] stomach, from Spanish: Panza; "Gut/Stomach") is a traditional Mexican soup, made with beef stomach (tripe) in broth with a red chili pepper base. Usually, lime, chopped onions, and chopped cilantro are added, as well as crushed oregano and crushed red chili peppers.
Menudo is usually eaten with corn tortillas or other breads, such as bolillo. It is often chilled and reheated, which results in a more concentrated flavor.
Menudo is traditionally a family food prepared by the entire family, and even serves as an occasion for social interactions such as after wedding receptions where the families of the groom and bride go to either family's house to enjoy an early morning bowl of Menudo. In popular Mexican culture, Menudo is believed to be a remedy for hangover.
Since menudo is time and labor-intensive to prepare as the tripe takes hours to cook (or else it is extremely tough), and includes many ingredients and side dishes (such as salsa), the dish is often prepared communally and eaten at a feast. Documents from the Works Progress Administration indicate that in the 1930s, among migrant workers in Arizona, menudo parties were held regularly to celebrate births, Christmas, and other occasions.
Menudo is time intensive, taking four to seven hours to make. Modern supermarkets who sell beef tripe offer a version of this meat which has been previously processed by scalding it in very hot water, which significantly reduces cooking time by several hours. The meat should first be rinsed clean. Menudo usually has tripe, honeycomb and "librillo" beef meat along with the beef feet and tendons. Pigs feet is also used in northern style menudo for example Chihuahua. The feet and tendons are boiled first at low to medium heat for about three hours. After the first three hours, the tripe should be added along with salt, an onion cut in half, and one or two heads of garlic. Red menudo has the addition of Guajillo chili paste. The menudo is allowed to continue boiling for an additional three hours while covered. Once it is almost done, the hominy is added. Beef tripe which has been properly cooked in dishes such as Menudo has a rich, complex flavor which explains the dishes popularity for family and group gatherings.
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Wikipedia