Batchoy

Batchoy – ah! An all-time favorite Ilonggo “pamahaw”. So mouth-watering! Almost all restos and eateries in Iloilo and Negros serve batchoy. Almost all of them claim to serve the original Lapaz batchoy. Anyone who comes to Iloilo cannot leave without savoring Ted’s Original Lapaz batchoy or Deco’s Original Lapaz batchoy. I have my own recipe for batchoy. Original or not, my family just love my version of batchoy – they crave for it.

To Boboy P., my husband's long-time-no-see friend who lost himself in the wilderness of Mindanao but later found himself with a pot of golden fruits in Davao, here’s how I cook batchoy….

You will need:

½ kilo pork (with some bones)

¼ kilo pork/beef liver

some quail’s eggs

1 head garlic (minced)

spring onions (minced)

cooking oil

2 pork cubes (I prefer knorr)

some fresh eggs (for special batchoy. But this is optional)

2 kilos fresh noodles (available in public markets. You may use miswa or sothanghon)

cooked ginamos (shrimp paste, this is optional if you have allergy),

salt

ground black pepper.

ground pork chicharon

 Fry garlic in little oil under low fire until brown. Be sure to turn the garlic continuously to avoid scorching. Set aside.

In a big “caldero”, boil pork and liver for about 15 minutes. Remove from fire and separate the pork and liver, Cut pork and liver into thin strips. While doing this, boil again the pork stock with the bones. You may add more water. Season with pork cubes, salt, cooked shrimp paste and pepper.

In a bowl, put some fresh noodles. On it, place some strips of pork, liver and some quail’s eggs. Pour some boiling hot pork stock. Top with lots of fried garlic, spring onion and chicharon. You may add fresh egg (minus its shell, of course) to give the soup that creamy look and taste.

Serve with puto sg Manapla or pan de leche.

Happy eating!..:)

photo from pinoyrecipe.com