The soup menudo is a traditional Ecuadorian & Mexican dish; a frequently spicy soup made with tripe. It is often thought of as a cure for a hangover, and is traditionally served on special occasions or with family.In pre-revolutionary Mexico, poverty among the campesinos was chronic, and little if anything that might be prepared as food was left to waste. Usually, the best cuts of meat would go to the hacienda owners while the offal went to the peasants. These leftovers consisted of organ meats, brains, head, tails, hooves, etc. As cattle and sheep are ruminants that require lengthy intestinal tracts to digest their diet of grasses and raw seeds, the stomach is one of the largest pieces of offal available from these animals.There are a number of variations on menudo, including blanco (white or clear), verde (green), or rojo (red). Typical condiments added to menudo are dried oregano, epazote, ground chile flakes, lime juice, fresh cilantro and chopped onion. Due to the length of time needed to cook tripe to be tender enough to be edible, menudo is generally cooked in large batches and sold as a special menu item in Mexican restaurants, although it is occasionally prepared at home. In some areas menudo is sold as a weekend-only specialty in regular restaurants (typically announced by signs reading Rico Menudo fines de semana). In other areas, menudo is made daily, but mostly sold in restaurants and market stalls (fondas) that specialize in the dish.There are a number of regional variations on menudo. In northern Mexico, typically hominy (creation of hominy is one step in the production of tortilla dough) is added, and in northwest states such as Sinaloa and Sonora usually only the blanco, or white, variation is seen. Adding patas (beef or pigs feet) to the stew is popular but not universal. In some areas of central Mexico, "menudo" refers to stew of sheep stomach, "pancitas" stew of beef stomach. The red variation is usually seen in Chihuahua, the northern state adjoining Texas. A similar stew made with more easily cooked meat is pozole.The popularity of menudo in Mexico is such that Mexico is a major export market for stomach tripe from US and Canadian beef producers. Large frozen blocks of imported menudo meat can frequently be seen in Mexican meat markets.The word "menudo" in Mexico can mean the raw stomach meat as well as the stew. The word tripas (tripe) normally refers to the small intestines rather than the stomach. Tripas are also eaten, but normally in tacos rather than stews.In southeast Mexico, menudo is more commonly known as mondongo (the South American version of menudo), and it does not include the traditional grains of corn.In the last season of the 1970s television series Sanford and Son, Fred Sanford made a reference to menudo in almost every episode. It was thought to be his favorite dish.Menudo also refers to an entirely different dish made in the Philippines. This dish, in contrast, is made of garlic, onions, diced pork chops, pork liver, diced potato, diced carrots, green bell peppers, soy sauce and tomato sauce, and seasoned with salt and pepper while it is cooked. Filipino menudo will usually contain tripe though common variants will include chickpeas, red peppers and raisins.Menudo also means "small change". It is unknown if the soup came to be known as "small change" since it was left over, or if the "small change" left on the table for the server was like the soup.Menudo is eaten for breakfast and is known as the "Breakfast of Champions" in New Mexico and Texas.