Batchoy Tagalog is a hearty soup made with pork, offal, and miswa in a ginger-flavored broth. It’s ready in under an hour and is the perfect comfort food for cold, rainy days!
It’s been a rainy week in our neck of the woods, so our meals at home have been mostly soups and stews. But while G enjoyed bowls of turkey chili and split pea soup, I, on the hand, had bowlfuls of bulalo and this batchoy Tagalog to keep me warm.
Ingredient notes
Batchoy Tagalog is a popular soup in Northern Luzon made of pork and organ meats such as liver and heart. The use of ginger and chili leaves brings a similar taste to tinolang manok, but the addition of pork blood and miswa noodles gives the dish a distinct flavor.
- Pork– I like to use lean pork tenderloin or lomo, but you can also use pork belly (liempo) or shoulder (kasim) for a fattier cut.
- Pork heart– you can also use the pancreas or lapay
- Fresh chili leaves– if unavailable, you can substitute spinach or chopped kinchay (Chinese celery)
- Brown– saute the onions, garlic, and ginger until softened and aromatic. Add the pork tenderloin and heart and cook until lightly browned. Season with fish sauce and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Cook– add water and simmer until meat is tender. Increase the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil. Add the liver and give it a few minutes to cook before stirring, so it will not cloud the soup. Add the pork blood and cook for a few minutes before stirring to allow it to set.
- Add miswa and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or softened.
- Add spinach leaves and push them down into the broth. Turn off the heat and cover to allow the residual heat to cook the spinach.
