Filipino Batchoy Recipe (iloilo Style)

Start to Finish : 90 minutes
Servings : 4
Difficulty : Intermediate

Batchoy is a dish that hails from the city of Iloilo in the Philippines. A hearty, garlicky soup, this dish uses a variety of pig offal, beef and round egg noodles, known as miki noodles, to make a one-bowl meal.

This soup uses up the off-cuts of a pig, so it is a tasty way to be economical. This recipe is adapted from one by Panlasang Pinoy and My Filipino Kitchen.

Ingredients

• Soup and Noodles
• 1 pound miki noodles
• 1/2 pound pork shoulder, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 pork trotter
• 1/2 pound pig intestines, cleaned and cooked, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/4 pound pig liver, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/4 pound pig kidneys, cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 cups cubed pork blood
• 1/4 pound beef loin, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 cups white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste
• 7 cups water

Toppings

• 1/4 cup sliced garlic
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup pork fried pork skin (cracklings or chicarron), crushed
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion

Directions

1. Place the pork trotter, intestines and shoulder in a large pot, along with the chopped onion and minced garlic. Fill the pot with water until the meat and vegetables are just covered, roughly 7 cups.

2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Skim off the brown-gray foam that appears as the meats stew. Cook for 40 minutes before removing the pig trotter.

3. While the soup is boiling, heat the sliced garlic and vegetable oil for the toppings in a small sauce pan on low heat. Cook until the garlic has turned a deep brown and is crispy.

4. Slice and pick the meat off of the pig trotter, chopping into 1/2 inch size pieces. Return the chopped pieces to the pot, along with the intestines and liver.

5. Bring back to a boil, then add the sugar and shrimp paste. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.

6. Add the pieces of pork blood, stirring gently as to not break the cubes. Cook for another 15 minutes, then add salt to taste. Turn off the heat, add the beef loin slices, stir, cover and let rest.

7. In a separate pot, bring water to a rapid boil and then quickly cook the miki noodles. Do not cook for more than 2 minutes. Drain and portion the noodles into individual soup bowls.

8. Spoon the broth and meats into the bowls, over the noodles. The hot liquid will continue cooking the noodles.

9. Top with the crushed pork cracklings, browned garlic and sliced green onions. Drizzle with the oil from cooking the garlic and serve immediately.

Variations

If you can’t find miki noodles, any other round, long, wheat-based Asian noodles will work. Shanghai noodles are similar to miki noodles, although they are a bit thicker. Thin wonton noodles can also be used, as well as udon noodles.

In the Philippines, the types of offal used to make the soup traditionally varies, depending on what is available that day from the butcher or market . However, the base of the soup is always pork, and it takes advantage of off-cuts to give the soup its deep, rich flavor.

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