When I was first working in the Dominican Republic, mondongo stew already sat among my list of native dishes I knew I needed to try, and locals were literally forcing it on me almost immediately upon my arrival; it’s one of those meals where you could ask 10 different Dominicans for their recipe & wind up with 10 slightly different answers, but the common ingredients where I lived in the campo were: beef & chicken stocks, yucca, plantains, squash, onions, sofrito, bay leaves, tamarinds, pork tripe (and often the snouts, feet, & ears) that’s been soaked in sour orange juice, and many times also the tripe from guinea pheasants or cattle. The whole process of preparation looked absolutely repulsive in the early evening when things were first getting on the stove or fire---jump forward 6 – 8 hours later, after insane amounts of merengue dancing, rum drinking, pot smoking & a little blow, and upon returning to the said stove/fire, the savory aroma coming out of that caldron is, quite simply, far too amazing to deny. For real, if you like to explore different culture’s foods, and you find yourself en la Republica Dominicana, sancocho de modongo will never disappoint after a long night spent partying or staying in from the heavy rains.
