Recipe of Pancit Batil Patong

Ingredients

• 500 g fresh miki noodles (or thick fresh egg noodles)
• 250 g minced beef (the traditional version uses carabao meat)
• 150 g pork belly, cut into small pieces
• 100 g pork liver, cut into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup finely shredded cabbage (about 100 g)
• 1 cup bean sprouts (togue)
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1 litre beef stock
• 6 eggs (2 beaten for the broth, 4 for poaching)
• 1 cup crushed pork chicharron
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 4 calamansi or 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• Fine salt to taste

Directions

1. 1

   Bring the stock to a gentle simmer with the pork belly in a pot and let it bubble softly for 20 minutes; strain it, keep the stock and set the pork belly aside.

2. 2

   Heat one tablespoon of oil in a wok over high heat and brown the minced beef for 5 minutes, breaking it up with the spoon; transfer it to a plate.

3. 3

   In the same wok add the pork belly and the liver and stir-fry for 3 minutes, until the pork belly renders its fat and the liver loses its pink colour.

4. 4

   Turn the heat down to medium, add the garlic and onion and fry for 1 minute, until fragrant and translucent.

5. 5

   Turn the heat up, add the miki noodles and toss them for 1 minute so they soak up the fat.

6. 6

   Pour in 1 cup of the stock, the soy sauce, the patis, the vinegar and the pepper, and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes with tongs or two spoons: the noodles should stay juicy, never dry.

7. 7

   Return the minced beef to the wok, toss for 1 minute and check the salt; tip the noodles into a deep serving dish and cover to keep them warm.

8. 8

   Stir-fry the cabbage, carrot and bean sprouts in the same wok with a splash of patis for 2 to 3 minutes so they stay crunchy, then spoon them over the noodles.

9. 9

   Make the batil: heat the rest of the stock over low heat, without letting it boil, and stream in the 2 beaten eggs while stirring in one direction so silky ribbons form.

10. 10

    Poach the 4 eggs in 90 °C water with a dash of vinegar for 3 minutes, until the white sets and the yolk stays runny.

11. 11

    Divide the noodles between four plates and crown each one with a poached egg, crushed chicharron and spring onion.

12. 12

    Serve straight away with the bowl of batil on the side and calamansi wedges to squeeze over the top.