SOPAS (FILIPINO CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP)

Sopas is considered a comfort food for Filipinos, we grew up eating this almost every two weeks.  It can be served as a snack but it can also be a complete meal by itself.  We can always enjoy a warm bowl of milky Sopas on a rainy day or any day of the week.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as we do in the family.

Ingredients:

2 tbsps. Vegetable cooking oil

6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 pcs. Med onion, chopped or sliced

1 whole chicken breast, boiled and shredded

3-5 tbsps patis

1-2 cups hotdog, sliced (or sausage)

1 ½ cups carrots, sliced

2 cups petchay baguio, sliced

2 cups, pasta noodles (elbow macaroni  or any pasta you prefer)

4-6 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp seasoning granules or broth cube (optional)

1-2 cups evaporated milk

Salt & pepper – as needed

Cooking Procedure :

1.     In a large cooking pot, saute garlic  until slightly browned, then add the onion, sauté it for a while until translucent, then put the shredded chicken, stir well, then add the fish sauce,  cover the pot  and simmer for a few minutes.   Then add the hotdog, let it cook for a while. 

2.     Then add the chicken broth, bring to a boil then put  the carrots, petchay baguio and pasta, stir gently and cover the pot.   Simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes, then add the milk and seasoning granules (if needed).  Cook it for another 3minutes, add salt and pepper to taste.   Serve into individual bowls.  Enjoy!

PANCIT BIHON (Rice Sticks)

Bihon Guisado is how we call this dish. You can either add chicken or pork into it, or do a combination of both if you want. I like to cook the vegetables separately to avoid it from being overcooked, its nice when the vegetables are still crunchy. I dont soak the bihon noodles in water as it tends to be soggy and wet when cooked. I just add a little bit more of cooking liquid into it.

Ingredients:
2 tbsps. Cooking Oil
1 head Garlic, chopped finely
3 medium size Onion, sliced
½ cup Soy Sauce
¼ tsp Black Pepper
1/4 kilo Pork Liempo, cut up into small cubes
¼ cup water
¼ kilo Pork Liver, cut into small cubes
2 pcs. Langgonisang Macao (Chinese Sausage), cut diagonally
3-4 cups water or broth
½ kilo Cabbage, cut julienne
3 pcs. Medium size Carrots. julienne
1/2 c. Kinstay, chopped coarsely
¼ kilo Squid Balls, cut into half, slightly fried
1 pack Bihon noodles (400 gms.)
Salt and Pepper
Few pieces of calamansi

Procedure:
In a big pan or wok , sauté half of the garlic in 1 tbsp. oil, when slightly brown, put onion, continue sautéing, then put the carrots, let it cook for a few minutes then add the kinstay, then the cabbage. Set aside, in a separate container.

In the same pan, put the pork with about ¼ cup water,cook in medium heat, stirring occasionally. Let it cook until the water is dry and fat starts to come out from the pork, let it cook for another 3-5 minutes, then take out the pork from the pan, then put 1 tbsp cooking oil and start sautéing the garlic till a bit brown, then the onion, stir well, then put back the pork and continue stirring for about 2 minutes, then put ½ c soy sauce, then the pepper. Let it sauté in the soysauce, then put about 4 cups water, let it boil in medium heat for another 10 minutes. When it starts to boil add the bihon noodles, continue cooking, stirring often, until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Test a noodle by pressing it between your fingers. If there is still a lot of resistance, add some more broth and seasoning, and continue cooking until dry. When the noodles are done, add the sauteed vegetables and squid balls to the pan and toss until everything is evenly heated. Serve with kalamansi halves on the side.