You may be sick of lechon based posts as a result of the Zubuchon obsession of Marketman and crew. But you just HAVE to read this post and try this recipe if you are a bonafide pork and/or noodle fan. I was wondering what to cook for lunch yesterday at the Cebu office, and was feeling a whole lot of deja vu’s with possible grilled pork, fish, and similar dishes. I wondered out loud if a lechon mami might be the answer. I ran out to the lechonan, caught the last 2 whole lechons for the retail outlets just before they were loaded onto the vans, and cut off 4 legs and a bit of one thigh. The meatiest parts were set aside, the other parts thrown into a stock pot with some onions and leeks, and set to go on a rolling boil…
We rushed out to the grocery, purchased some fresh egg noodles, vegetables, some frozen siopao and softdrinks, and by the time we got back to the office forty minutes later, we had a nice cloudy and tasty stock. I added some water to the stock, some salt and julienned carrots and let this boil a bit more. The stock was going for about 1 hour total. The resulting base stock was VERY GOOD for the minimal effort. Ramen stocks often take a day to make properly, so I was pleasantly surprised by this instantish lechon stock. If you are pressed for time, add a small packet of pork stock powder, but only if necessary. Flavor with a bit of kikkoman soy sauce and ground pepper. No MSG necessary.
Meanwhile, turn to your mise en place. Boil as many eggs as guests who are going to eat the noodles. Stick the eggs in water, turn on the heat, let it reach a boil, then wait 1 minute and turn off the heat. Remove from the water 3-4 minutes later, and peel when cool enough to handle. I like my eggs just done, so I take them out of the hot water 2-3 minutes earlier. Next, chop up some chicharon with laman into smaller than bite sized pieces. Chop up the lechon meat into small pieces. Slice some snow peas on the bias or diagonal. Wash some slightly sprouted mung bean sprouts. Slice, wash and drain some napa cabbage and pechay. Chop some green onions. You can do all of this while the broth is boiling away. And with several co-workers put to task, this was done in less than 15 minutes. :)
Complaints about an “off” taste in local commercial noodles are something I completely understand. To prevent or minimize the issue, I wash the noodles and drain them. Then I boil them in hot water for roughly 3-4 minutes and drain them again. This seems to “wash off” some of the chemical taste.
You are now ready to assemble your Zubumami. To the boiling broth, add the bean sprouts, snow peas and greens and cook for 1-2 minutes before turning off the heat. Portion out some noodles to each serving bowl, ladle hot broth with vegetables onto the noodles, top with chopped lechon, chicharon and green onions and serve. We also had some siopao asado on the side.
Everyone eating the noodles went DEAD SILENT for several minutes. I kid you not. Like someone had passed away and we didn’t know what to say. Some folks added sriracha chili sauce to their bowls of noodles, others did not. You could hear the chicharon absorbing the hot broth. A bit of slurping due to the long noodles. The soup was surprisingly SUPERB for such a short and easy procedure employed. The bits of lechon, chicharon, etc. all worked well together. The boiled egg was not required and added bulk and texture only. This was a SLAM DUNK EXPERIMENTAL HIT!
This soup made use of the less desirable parts of a lechon (we have LOTS of lechon legs after selling all the prime parts. It also makes use of the thigh meat, which is often the last to sell in Cebu, but which honestly is the best “bang for your buck” usually. The other ingredients are all reasonably priced, and yet the result is a rich and satisfying bowl of noodles that trumps anything instant or commercial. I would almost pit this against mediocre to good bowls of ramen noodles in many Japanese restaurants!
Of course we immediately christened it Zubumami, and hope that some day we will be able to serve it to the public. For now, it is something we will enjoy at future office lunches. The next time you have lechon at a party or special occasion, remember to keep the legs and some meat for soup broth and try this recipe. You won’t regret it. :)
49 Responses
Thanks for this great idea. We just usually make paksiw na lechon for the legs and other parts that did not have a great demand. Keep up the good work. Mr. MM, your blog site is my # 1 favorite food blog.
Looks really good MM. I usually use the leftover lechon legs to make Nilaga, you gave me another idea for leftover lechon. Will definitely try your version of mami. I love everything pork especially liempo!
Yeah – it would be interesting to put this version of mami against ramen!
agree! the broth looks very rich, and the yellow is definitely NOT due to food coloring. just by looking, I agree it’s delicious!!
haaay…. (as the “jejemons would say. “haaayzzzzz”)
Lovely looking mami. Slicing the lechon meat in flat thin pieces (instead of in cubes) can give the impression that everyone is getting more of them.
this looks like a “healthier” way to make use of leftover lechon (with the veggies et al)… i will definitely try this. thanks, MM.
Yum yum! It really looks appetizing. Now I’m hungry…
Abao, kanamit gid!!
Now ya got me cravin’, MM.
Looks superb! I bet it feeds the soul as well as the belly. How resourceful of you, MM!
Your stock is cloudy because you let it boil violently, just bring it up to a bare simmer and you will have crystal clear stock.
Sigh, it looks so good and I miss mami. I miss our chicharon too. I miss our food, period. I am somewhat in the boondocks. No good Asian restaurant nearby (i do not count the chinese buffet places that do not have chicken feet). Asa pa na may Southeast Asian resto.
zena, sorry, didn’t mean for these posts to make you feel bad…:( sister, yes, I agree, a clearer stock if we had a few hours to barely simmer, but his was instant lunch on short notice. Next time will try the slow gurgle for many hours… footloose, yes, if we slice it thin like in Japanese ramen, it would go further…
Hi MM, i am a retired banker turned hobby farmer who is about to settle in our minifarm in Mindoro. I came across your site about a month ago when I was surfing the net for a recipe of “fresh lumpiang ubod” and have been hooked since then. I will definitely try your ZubuMami. God bless…
MM, just in case you mis-placed my phone number, its 0928…….. I can be at your office within 20 minutes to taste test as well….hehehehe
Artisan, I am SOOO sorry. We were just crazed and I definitely could have had a few more folks over for noodles. Will do something next time we are in Cebu, we have a new “pakulo” for Zubuchon for June, stay tuned… :)
wow! looking forward for the new pakulo for Zubuchon. Im still checking on my schedule and waiting for some airnline promos but for sure, if i visit Cebu its only because of Zubuchon! thanks for sharing this zubumami to us!
My in-laws make sinigang out of the lechon legs. They are totally crazy about it that they actually try to out-scramble each other for the legs ha! ha!
I would top the soup with fried garlic and slurp Zubumami to my heart’s content. And yes, I’d slice the meat thinly. The thin slivers of meat look better…. and freshly made noodles from any source would take it a notch higher.
I love everything about this and since I like a little punch of citrus in all my brothy soups, all I would add is a squeeze of lemon and top with ground white pepper. Yum! Wish I could buy that here in the U.S.
With all these Zubuchon-based creations, will there be a Zubuchon restaurant opening soon? Hehe :D
Zubumami …. Definitely on my list of things to cook this weekend :)
MM, your Zubu product lineup is growing. Time to open an eat-in place in Cebu? =)
i would also add fried onions or shallots as an additional topping. it’s been a while that i’m craving for a mami and your post literally made me drool in front of my laptop. if only lechon is also available here in paris.
wow!perfect comfort food with the mami and the lecon stock…wish i were in cebu so that i can also try zubuchon…
Looks really yum MM. Local fresh noodles are mostly disappointing!! Maybe next time you can go to the extent to producing good quality egg noodles like the ones they use in HK. How about replacing the chicaron witih chopped crisy lechon skin… I think that should work as well.
yummy! this post made me hungry…
Thanks MM, what a great idea! We have to give this a try after our next Lechon for Lunch day.
Delicious! How about taking it with a dab of genuine XO sauce or a touch of lime? Personally, I’d put wansoy (my fave!) or kinchay as garnish. Try using pho noodles next time. Egg noodles can give a certain, for lack of a better word, “egg-y” flavor that sometimes mask delicate soups. This post reminds me of what we do when we order peking duck in the restos. We bring the carcass home to make stock for noodle soup or congee next day. Wow, Zubucong or Zubulu (for Zubulugaw) would be equally wonderful…
I do this also when we have left over roasted chicken :)
MM, my husband has noticed something after I read your blog. He says I tend to run downstairs to the pantry… LOL. Unfortunately, there’s no fresh egg noodles available here but there is pancit canton imported from the Philippines(!) at an Asian store nearby. Hope that will be good enough…
I thought it was your version of batchoy when I saw your top photo, hehe. This is way better with the lechon! Now I’m craving! But this will be a challenge to make esp. without Zubuchon :(
wow, may be in cebu for a month in august, looking forward to the new pakulo, and to having artisan chocollatier’s wicked chocolate spread and breads!
ang sarap naman!!! kakaingit…my attempts in mami soup making are so bad….but will try again:)
mm: will do something next time we are in Cebu, we have a new “pakulo†for Zubuchon for June, stay tuned… :)
sc: mm, don’t forget me! :)
Yum, yum!! And with a recipe to boot. Thank you for sharing this experiment and not letting us non-Philippine based ones just languish in envy. :-)
OMG, just opened the site and here is a delicious dish in front of me. This usually does not happen as I have to go to the archives to get the present post. Anyway, it looks sooo appetizing. I love the leg parts/thigh areas. Ha, I will get a good deal diay whenever I am back in Cebu and get the lechon. I will just use the roast pork as sub. Will definitely try this tomorrow, MM. And I have siopao in the freezer.Will do what Sister said.
MM, this is my second ultimate comfort food but in chicken—always in chicken as I am doing away with pork since last year. But this post looks so delicious. How I wish I could buy such fresh mami noodles like those you have…Pancit mami dreaming mode na naman ako, sigh!
yum yum yum!!!! I hope to try out this one. thanks MM!
We just had a b-day party for my nephew and my aunt ordered a large lechon so we cooked paksiw day after the party. If only I had read this before the party then I could have cooked some of the leftovers the ZubuMami way. Fresh egg noodles are sold in the Chinese/Vietnamese groceries, in fact, all ingredients you used are available here, I’m so lucky , thank God for that.
december seems so far away esp when you post comfort foods like these. but at least i have one thing to look forward to when i come home that month and that’s Zubuchon. can’t wait!
Crackings taste better than croutons in soup.
Yum! Cardiac delight anyone? :)
this is my kind of soup…very strong in flavor! it doesn’t disappoint.
the everybody’s cafe in san fernando, pampanga serves the best
mami. my friends and i have frequented that restaurant for their mami
way back in my high school years…
your zubumami recipe looks really, really good! i should try cooking it
next time….thanks, mm, for the recipe.
Oh, wow…this makes my mouth water. Perfect for the incoming rainy season.
WOW. . .this is SUPER ZubuMami. . . it’s making me hungry here in the office . . . looks really yumm
i love noodles! esp hand pulled. from the looks of it, i don’t doubt that it’s really good. i just can’t find myself slurping noodles in the dreaded heat brought by summer. the 2010 summer is one of the worst i had experienced in the philippines. it’s june now and its still very hot here in manila, but once it starts raining continously, i would enjoy myself in noodle heaven.
hmm, how about using liempo? your liempo post was a blast too.
Yum! Still waiting for MM’s ZUBUpao recipe. MM, do you have a good recipe for siopao?