Almondigas
A meatball and noodle soup, it is quite probable that the Filipino almondigas is an adaptation of the Mexican meatball soup called albondigas.Unlike Mexican albondigas, the meatballs in Filipino almondigas contain no rice. But rice is present in the soup albeit in another form. Misua, fine rice noodles that originated in China, is added to the soup toward the end of cooking. And unlike Mexican albondigas, the broth of Filipino almondigas is clear because tomatoes are not included in the ingredients.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
For the meatballs
To complete the dish
- ¾ cup cooking oil
- 5 cups bone broth
- 3 cloves garlic - peeled and crushed
- 1 small onion - sliced
- patis (fish sauce) - (if broth is unsalted)
- pepper
- 2 bundles misua
- ¾ cup finely sliced scallions
Instructions
- Mix together all the ingredients for the meat balls. Form into balls about 2 inches in diameter.
- Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan.
- Fry the meatballs in hot oil, rolling the balls around in oil to brown evenly. Once lightly browned, remove from the wok or skillet and drain on paper towels.
- Heat a sauce pan or casserole. Transfer a tablespoon of cooking oil from the frying pan.
- Saute the garlic and onion until the onion is soft.
- Pour in the broth. Bring to a boil.
- Add the meat balls. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for ten minutes.
- Taste and add patis and pepper, as needed.
- Off the heat, add the misua and cover for another five minutes.
- Transfer to a soup tureen and top with sliced scallions. Serve hot.
Cook’s Notes
This is an old recipe from my grandmother — with a few personal tweaks.
First, bone broth. My grandmother used plain water as a base for the soup and relied heavily on the spice base and the flavors in the meatballs that find their way into the liquid. I use bone broth for my almondigas for a richer flavor.
Second, I added grated carrot to the meatballs for more flavor, texture and color.
Apart from those two, it’s still my grandmother’s almondigas.
Updated from a post originally published in 07/12/2003.
Do you like seriously Asian food?Check out Devour.Asia!
If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.
Inihaw na Panga ng Tuna (Grilled Tuna Collar)
»