Central Philippines Pork Noodle Soup (La Paz Batchoy)

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Divide the egg noodles between two large bowls.

3. Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and saute just until fragrant.

4. Add the pork tenderloin and offal (or pork meat slices). Season with fish sauce to taste. Cook just until the meat has absorbed the fish sauce and the liver is cooked through but not overdone.

5. Divide the sauteed meat between the two bowls.

6. Crack an egg over the noodles and meat.

7. Pour in simmering broth.

8. Sprinkle generously with crushed chicharron.

9. Garnish with sliced scallions. Serve immediately with kalamansi halves (or lime) and more fish sauce on the side.

More About Batchoy

To make a good batchoy, start with a rich homemade broth. And, if offal is not a taste you've acquired, you can substitute it with sliced cooked pork meat.

• What makes La Paz batchoy richer than other pork mami versions is the broth. Spices and aromatics (usually shallots, garlic cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaves), beef bones (with the marrow), pork bones, and shrimp heads and shells are simmered together for hours until the chunks of beef marrow fall off the bones, partially liquefy, and get mixed into the broth.
• Because of the addition of shrimp heads and shells, the broth does not taste too much of meat fat and neither does the shrimp taste overwhelm. It is, put simply, a perfect balance.
• Have this rich broth simmering while you prepare the rest of the ingredients for La Paz batchoy. That way, the noodle soup is at the perfect steaming-hot temperature when it is served.