Courtney's Ersatz Bopis

I am honestly a bit tired of seeing apologetic recipes for pig parts. As with the pork kidneys the recipes for hearts almost uniformly praised lamb and veal (and even ox!) parts and said well, if you can't get anything else, pig would probably do. So when I defrosted the pig heart I had on hand (see first post pic), I was determined to find a recipe that called, initially and with pride, for a pig heart.

Fortunately, Filipino recipes embrace the pig, and the whole pig. So I found several basic recipes for Bopis, which can be made with heart or with heart and lungs combined. I had nowhere near all the traditional ingredients, so I adapted it to fit my suburban American kitchen. The result was fabulous.

Recipe:
(serves 2)
1 pig heart (ours was just over a pound)
4 large garlic cloves
1 medium-large onion
1/2 bell pepper
1 hot pepper (I used a jalapeno)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1T turmeric
1 t ground black pepper
salt or patis (Filipino fermented fish sauce; I used salt) to taste
2T coconut oil or lard for frying

Trim the pig heart of excess fat, obvious valves, and the muscly flaps that cover it. Rinse it out well. Boil 30 - 45 min or until a fork poked into the heart comes out easily. Remove the heart and cube it.

Mince the garlic and cube the onion and bell pepper.

In a frying pan or wok, heat the fat and saute the garlic until just brown. Add the onion and pork and saute 2 or 3 minutes more. Add the turmeric, pepper, and salt/patis and stir until coated and fragrant. Add the vinegar and set to medium heat. Boil 5 min without stirring. Add the peppers and stir gently (picture below shows everything added into the frypan).
Boil 8 - 10 minutes more until sauce is melded and vinegar no longer tastes sharp. Serve.Eating Notes: This was excellent sweet and sour in its own right. I think it works very well with heart, but for the squeamish another cut would probably do. We were surprised because aside from the onion and bell pepper there was nothing "sweet" in it. I would definitely make it again and now I'm curious to track down all the Filipino ingredients and do it right.

Update: The reason I didn't link through to the "ur" recipe is because I cribbed this from 5 or 6 different sources. I've added a link above to the Wikipedia article on bopis for those who would like to learn more about the dish.