The Steaming Wok

soup

La Paz Batchoy – Philippines Pork Noodle Soup

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Before the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, Chinese traders frequented the island chain and brought a lot of their culinary influences, including noodle soups, however, this soup is not strictly Chinese and has Spanish influences such as the addition of chicharron or pork cracklings.  I did not have them the day I made this version, but I suggest you include them.  They add a really nice textural element.  While the traditional version calls for boiling down beef and pork bones as well as shrimp heads and shells, I have simplified a bit and developed a recipe using shrimp paste and pork butt instead.  If I have time, I sometimes include shrimp shells because they add a rich umami flavor.  When I peel shrimp, I always save the shells and heads in my freezer for making stocks and broths. They are also  great for making fish-based soups or even paella. 

This dish gets its name from the La Paz district of Iloio city where the dish is said to have been created. The creator’s son said his father jokingly referred to the soup as “bats” and added choy from chop suey. Although I did not get to sample this dish while I was in the Philippines, I think it exemplifies what I like best about Filipino food.  It elevates simple ingredients and borrows flavor profiles from a variety of cuisines to make what I view as Asian comfort food.

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil (enough to fry sliced garlic) – I usually use a small saucepan.

1 bulb of garlic, cloves separated and thinly sliced

5 additional cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp shrimp paste or Ginisang Bagoong (I like to use sautéed versions)

1 onion thinly sliced

2 lbs pork butt

1  lb egg noodles (I like to get the refrigerated fresh Chinese egg noodles, but you can use the noodles of your choice)

salt to taste

sliced green onions for garnish

chicharrons or pork cracklings (pork skins) for garnish

Directions:

  1. Prepare pork soup base.  In a large stock pot, heat 1-2 Tbsp oil until hot.  Add onions, garlic, and shrimp paste and cook for a few minutes until the onions begin to soften.  Add piece of pork butt and cover with water (about 7-8 cups).  Add some salt to season (1-2 Tbsp) and bring to a low simmer.  Cover, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until pork is tender and shreds easily with a fork.
  2. While the pork is simmering, prepare fried garlic chips.  Heat a few cups of oil in a small saucepan until it is hot enough to fry the garlic.  I like to use a wooden chopstick to test the oil.  If you insert the tip and it produces vigorous bubbles, it’s ready.  Add your sliced garlic and fry gently for 4-6 minutes until the garlic is golden.  Remove and drain on a paper towel.  The leftover oil will also take on the flavor of the garlic and is delicious for making garlic bread or drizzling over beans so don’t discard it!
  3. Remove the pork from the stock pot and slice.  Strain the broth and bring back up to a low simmer. Taste the broth to see if it needs any additional salt.
  4. Heat your noodles according to the directions on the package and divide between six bowls.  Ladle over the soup broth and garnish with a few slices of pork, a sprinkle of green onions, some cracklings, and a few fried garlic chips.  Enjoy!

Batchoy

 

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian)

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I was thumbing through some old copies of Saveur Magazine recently and found their recipe for Taiwanese beef noodle soup (牛肉面）and thought I should experiment a bit in the kitchen.  As a student in Taiwan, I would often stop by the small street vendors at the night markets to pick up a steaming bowl of chewy egg noodles in spicy broth.  I always knew how to find the best vendor by following the slurping noises from happy patrons.

It seems like every Asian country in the region has their own version of this dish, but even within Taiwan it is possible to find many different types of beef noodles with each cook putting their own personal stamp on the dish.  Some cooks will braise the beef in soy sauce and make (hong shao niu rou mian) or red braised beef noodles, but my favorite version involves stir frying the beef with chili bean paste before serving with the soup.  Although the dish is thought to have originated with Muslim Hui Chinese, it has become one of Taiwan’s national dishes.

This version is my own adaptation of Saveur’s recipe.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Serves 6

4 lbs. bone-in beef shank portions

1/4 cup Chinese rice wine (I use Shaoxing wine) or sherry

2 tbsp. black peppercorns

10 cloves of garlic, crushed

8 plum tomatoes, quartered

6 whole star anise

3 yellow onions, quartered

2 dried red chiles de arbol, or other fragrant red chiles

4″ piece of ginger

3 tbsp. Chinese black vinegar

12 baby bok choy

1 lb. Chinese egg noodles

Pickled mustard to garnish

3 tbsp Chinese chili bean paste (look for paste that has broadbeans)

thick black soy sauce to season

cilantro to garnish

  1. Put the beef in a pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then remove the meat and rinse out the pot and start over with clean water to cover.  This will help to remove any impurities and insures a clean, clear tasting broth.
  2. Add wine, peppercorns, garlic, tomatoes, star anise, onions, chiles, and ginger and bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 2 hours.
  3. Remove meat from broth and shred.  Strain remaining broth, removing solids.  You may also want to skim the surface of the broth of excess fat.
  4. Add vinegar, and season with soy sauce.  You may also want to season with pepper if necessary.
  5. Bring fresh pot of water to a boil and add bok choy to briefly par-boil.  This should only take a few minutes.  Then add noodles and cook until softened.  Cooking time will vary depending upon the thickness of your noodles.  Place a portion of noodles in each bowl and top with bok choy.
  6. While noodles are cooking, briefly stir fry meat in skillet or  with chili bean paste until fragrant.
  7. Top each bowl with a portion of shredded meat.  Garnish with pickled mustard and cilantro if desired.

Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)

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I was fortunate enough this past Thanksgiving to receive a container of homemade cabbage and radish kimchi from one of my mom’s friends in Atlanta.  Although this meant making the 11 hour drive back to DC with a bucket of kimchi in the back seat, it was well worth it.  Young’s kimchi was pungent with chili and garlic and was perhaps the best kimchi I have had the pleasure of eating.  This includes all of the kimchi I sampled last year while in Seoul.  I’m still working on getting her secret recipe, but until then, I will share one of my favorite recipes for using kimchi.

Whenever I have an abundance of kimchi I like to make kimchi Jjigae or stew.  This works particularly well with kimchi that you have had in your fridge for a while.  The more pungent and sour it is, the better.

Korean Kimchi Jjigae

Serves 4

2 tablespoons Sesame oil

1 pound thinly sliced pork belly (this also works well with thinly sliced beef sirloin)

2 tablespoons Korean chili paste

4 cloves garlic thinly sliced

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

3 cups cabbage kimchi coarsely chopped – liquid reserved

2 cups chicken broth

1 pound tofu chopped into cubes

5 green onions thinly sliced

  1. Toss meat with chili paste and garlic and let rest for 30 minutes so some of the flavors of the paste can infuse into the meat.
  2. Heat the sesame oil in a pan  over medium-high heat until hot and add pork and cook for a few minutes until the meat is browned.  Throw in the onions and briefly fry until the onions have softened a bit, the intent here is not to brown the onions but to let them soften a bit.
  3. Add the kimchi, including all the liquid to the pan and stir in chicken broth.  Let this mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes.
  4. Add the tofu and let the mixture simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes to ensure that the flavor from the kimchi has permeated the tofu.  Taste at this point for salt and pepper.  I find that it rarely needs additional salt as the kimchi tends to have enough salt.
  5. Remove from heat and garnish with sliced green onions.