Its been 2 consecutive Saturdays that we're having Batchoy Tagalog for dinner ( and lunch the other day ). Waldy kept bugging me to cook this dish again, as he's been craving for its sabaw.
When you think about this dish or hear the dish name Batchoy, what comes in mind is how complicated it is to cook. I have to thank Google and those Filipino cooking sites for making life easier for me, as I just have to follow every steps and ingredients to make such a dish.
The first time I tasted this dish was in the home of my friend, Coun. Don De Leon of Quezon City. However, I can't remember if he calls the dish the same name as indicated in the net. What's clear to me is that he told me that the formula to make the soup very savory is, he uses a bit of Bagoong isda and kutsai.
What in the world is kutsai? Is it the same as kinchay? What does it look like and why is it so special? These questions are exactly asked by Waldy when I was giving him the list of the ingredients he needs to buy for our ulam. Its really hard to explain everything, so I took a small amount of effort to Google it for anyone who'll be reading my post. Just click this link and you're 1 step higher into herb knowledge ( hehehe) : http://foodrecap.net/health/kuchay-benefits/
( credits to Marketmanila.com for the image)
Here's the list of the ingredients:
1 slab of Pork Lomo
1/4 Pork Kasim with a bit of fats ( Waldy wants a bit of fat on his soup)
2 pcs. Pork kidney
2 cups Coagulated Pork Blood
3 cloves of Garlic
1 pc. medium sized Onion
1/2 cup of Ginger
1 bunch of Kutsai
1 pc. Knorr Pork Cubes
1/4 cup Bagoong Isda
1/4 cup Patis or Fish sauce ( optional )
2-3 cups Hugas-bigas ( add or reduce on how much sabaw you want )
Ground Pepper
2 plastic Miswa
Procedure :
Cut Pork Lomo, Kasim and Kidneys into small cubes then set aside. Boil fresh Pork Blood with water for 3-5 minutes or until its jelly-like then set aside. Saute' ginger, onion and garlic with Pork Kidney until the " ango " smell is gone then add the pork and Bagoong Isda then leave it to cook for 10 minutes until the pork is tender and the fishy taste is almost gone. Add the hugas-bigas then let it boil, then add the Knorr pork cubes. kutsai and pepper, let it simmer for about 3-5 minutes then add the miswa and blood then simmer again for 3 minutes. Add fish sauce if the soup is a bit bland. Remember, the saltiness depends on the one who's cooking it. Serve with a smile!
I always use the last part of the sabaw ng sinaing or hugas-bigas whenever I cook any kind of sabaw, because it makes it more tasty. Another tip is, if you think you put too much Bagoong isda, add more ginger and boil for about 2 minutes more. Its also always good to taste the sabaw every time you add each ingredients to measure the taste carefully, or you can have a trustee-taster on the side ( in my case Waldy or Izhi) for a better consultation of the taste.
Have fun cooking and happy eating!
( Missing in photo is Miswa and Hugas-bigas.)
Apology for the blurred finish product picture. My photograper was too excited to eat that he forgot to take a picture of the oh-so-pretty cooked Batchoy. I assure you, its delicious.
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