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Pork Mami

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
Noodles, thinly sliced pork, vegetables and homemade bone broth go into this bowl of noodle soup popularized by the legendary Ma Wen-lu who founded Ma Mon Luk Restaurant in Manila's Chinatown.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Course Main Course, Snack
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 4 people
Pork mami (Filipinized Chinese pork noodle soup)

Ingredients
  

Pork

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 1 kilogram roasting pork (belly or shoulder) in one piece
  • ½ to ¾ cup soy sauce (how much depends on the saltiness of your brand of soy sauce or whether you’re using light or dark soy sauce)
  • 2 star anise
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 12 peppercorns
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 one-inch knob ginger
  • 1 whole garlic
  • 1 whole onion

Noodle Soup

Instructions
 

Cook the pork

  • Prick the meat with a fork in several places.
  • Heat the cooking oil in a large heavy pan.
  • Lightly brown the pork, rolling it in hot oil to brown all sides evenly.
  • Pour enough water to reach about half the height of the pork.
  • Pour in the soy sauce and add the rest of the ingredients.
  • Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer the pork for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on its thickness.
  • Flip the pork halfway through the cooking time.
  • Lift the pork out of the liquid and cut thinly.

Assemble the pork mami

  • Heat the bone broth to simmering.
  • Cook the noodles according to package directions, drain and divide among four bowls.
  • Cut the cabbage into half-inch slices.
  • Using a kitchen spider, blanch the carrot and cabbage in the broth for about a minute.
  • Arrange the carrot, cabbage and pork around the noodles in the bowls.
  • Pour in hot broth.
  • Garnish with fried shallots and cilantro (or sliced scallions).
  • Serve the pork mami at once.

Notes

If you want to drizzle sauce over your pork mami, stir a tablespoon of cornstarch dispersed in two tablespoons of water into the pork cooking liquid and simmer until thickened and no longer cloudy. Serve on the side.
Updated from two recipes originally published in December 13, 2011 and August 1, 2014
Keyword Noodle Soup, Pork