A Deliciously Tasty Ilocano Miki Soup Recipe
Miki Noodles are a popular snack food native to northern Luzon in the Philippines. An egg noodle soup, there are lots of different Ilocano Miki soup recipe and almost as many different types of Miki noodles.
The most popular version of the soup uses a rich chicken broth seasoned with rich, peppery ground achiote or annatto, and that’s the version we’re going to be discussing. Miki noodles are often topped with fried pork belly or bagnet.
The best Ilocano miki soup recipe uses hand-prepared noodles, rolled thin and cut into flat strips, and dried in the open air. The popular dish originated as street food in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, which is in north Lozon.
The dish is also commonly eaten with supermarket egg noodles, especially when it’s prepared at home by time-strapped people. This recipe includes instructions for preparing the egg noodles, but feel free to simply substitute the store-bought noodles.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 pound chicken breast, cooked and shredded
- 8 cups chicken stock, (or 2 chicken cubes to be dissolved in 8 cups of water)
- 1/4 cup annatto or achiote powder
- 2 lbs. flat egg noodles (you can use any pre-made noodles from the market to save time)
- salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- bagnet, for topping
- 1 egg, boiled
- For noodles:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 egg, whole
Equipment
- Cast-Iron Dutch Oven
Directions
For the noodles:
- Pour flour into a pile on a clean work surface and make a well in the middle deep enough to hold an egg without overflowing.
- Crack one egg into the well. Beat the egg into the flour until a dough forms, and work the dough until it’s semi-stiff. If the dough sticks to your hands or the work surface, add a tablespoon of flour at a time and work into the dough until it sticks to itself only.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
- Roll it out into a thin sheet of dough (less than ¼”), making the sheet circular for traditional Miki noodles or square if you want the noodles to be uniform in size.
- Let the dough dry for about 30 minutes. It’s important not to let it go too far over the 30 minutes because if the dough dries too much it will crack into bits when cut into noodles.
- Cut into noodles approximately 2 inches wide, then stack into paired strips and cut the paired noodles into fours. Your finished noodles should be about a half-inch wide.
For the soup:
- Heat the cooking oil in the pot until shimmering. Add garlic and stir briefly until it becomes fragrant, or about 15-30 seconds.
- Add the shredded chicken and broth to the pot and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, until the chicken is fully soft and has absorbed the broth.
- Add annatto powder and bring to a boil, stirring to spread the powder fully through the liquid and bring out the bright red color that is the trademark of the dish. Season with salt and black pepper and taste, adjusting as necessary. Go a little light on salt in this stage and you can correct it just before service but nothing will take salt out of food that’s too salty.
- Add the noodles you prepared and stir slowly for 3-5 minutes until the noodles have fully rehydrated and absorbed the flavor of the broth.
- Taste the broth and if it’s undersalted you can add salt now and simmer for another minute or two.
- Serve by ladling the soup and noodles into the bowl (long noodle soups like this will often need to scoop the noodles separately because they will tend to slip off the ladle). Top with chopped fried pork belly (bagnet) and a whole boiled egg.
FAQ
What kind of ingredient substitutions does this dish offer?
For people who love substitutions, this popular classic street food is easily open to it. You can substitute almost any ingredient for the fried pork belly or bagnet and it will taste really good.
Popular options include shrimp, shredded beef, and more shredded chicken. Many will garnish this dish with chopped scallion, green onion, or pechay (Chinese cabbage or bok choy).
What are Miki noodles?
Miki noodles are flat egg noodles popular in the Philippines. To make this soup, you have the option of making egg noodles (included in this recipe) or using store-bought egg noodles.
If you’re using egg noodles from the store, make sure you’re buying long and thin egg noodles. It’s also possible, albeit not authentic, to use either flat rice noodles or linguini if you cannot find egg noodles in the right shape.
Why no salt in the noodles?
Noodles won’t need salt when they’re being prepared because they will absorb the salty broth as they cook. Salting them at the outset means they will be far too salty once they cook.
You can also read:
