Menudo (minus liver)

I love menudo but I'm not a fan of pork liver, and so the "minus". I tried cooking it without the liver and I must say it tastes good, or even better than the usual recipe my mother taught me. Hehe... My taste buds might just be biased but to those who share the same "tongue" with me, this one's for you.

Ingredients:

• oil
• crushed garlic
• chopped onion
• 1/2 soy sauce
• 3 tbsp vinegar
• 100-mg pack tomato sauce
• 1/2 can (small) liver spread dissolved in 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 small cubed carrots
• 2 medium cubed potatoes
• 3 pcs diagonally sliced sausage or hotdog
• 1/2 kg cubed pork
• mixed veggies
• 1 red bell pepper
• pepper
• bay leaf

Directions:

1. Fry carrots and potatoes in oil. Set aside.
2. In the same pan, sautee garlic and onion in oil.
3. Add soy sauce, tomato sauce, and vinegar.
4. Put the pork and simmer for about 3 minutes.
5. Add water with the liver spread and boil for another 30 minutes or until the water is reduced.
6. Drop in the sausage/hotdog, mixed veggies, and bayleaf.
7. Cook for another 5 minutes.
8. Add the remaining ingredients, including the fried veggies, and cook until the sauce thickens.

*We had chilled watermelon slices after meal, and I found it super bagay (fitted) as a dessert.