PORK NILAGA

Boiled Pork Soup with Potatoes and Cabbage

Recipe by :  Ariel Jasa,  Mandaluyong City, Philippines

Pork Nilaga, a Filipino comfort soup is made by boiling chunks of fatty pork in a clear both with vegetables like cabbage, pechay, potatoes, or optional ingredients like green beans, corn, cooking banana.

The preparation is pretty straightforward, a novice cook can't possibly mess it up.

My family love it during cold, rainy days, or when any one of us is sick.  With the hot soup, chunks of meat and vegetables, it is perfect during those lazy days when all you want is to do is curl up under the sheets.

I would cook nilaga for lunch and fry up the left-over meat as Lechon kawali for dinner.  This way,  I would just be basically cooking 1 dish for the day, plus the kids love the fried, crackling pork skin.

Other people put cooking bananas in their nilagang baboy.  This makes the soup a little on the sweet side.  They would slice the banana along its width, without removing the banana skin and cooking it together with the potatoes.

Also, aside from pork, other nilaga dishes I like doing are beef (bulalo) or fish (pesa) with the same style of cooking, though with Pesang Isda, I always put ginger to lessen any funky, fishy smell and taste.

YOUR SHOPPING LIST:

• Pork Belly
• Cabbage
• Pechay or Bok Choy
• Potatoes

IN THE PANTRY:

• Onion
• Salt
• Peppercorns

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg. Pork belly (cubed or sliced in serving pieces)
• 1 medium Onion, minced
• 1 small head Cabbage
• 2 bundles Pechay or Bok choy
• 8-10 cups of water
• 4 pieces medium potatoes (quartered)
• 1 tsp. black peppercorn
• salt to taste

1 Boil the pork in a pot of water and skim any foamy scum floating on the surface. (To keep the broth clear).

2 Add the onion, season with salt and peppercorns and simmer for about an hour or until tender.

3 Add the potatoes and cook until potatoes tender, about 15 minutes.

4 Add the cabbage and pechay.

5 Serve hot with steamed white rice.

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