Pork ribs and vegetable soup (nilagang tadyang ng baboy)
Boiled pork ribs, sweet corn, bok choy, potatoes and squash make a chunky soup that, in the Philippines, it is eaten as a main course with rice. Best enjoyed with a mixture of fish sauce and calamansi juice for dipping.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
Pork and broth
- 1 kilogram pork spare ribs (2.2 pounds) cut between the bones
- 1 small onion cut into halves
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon peppercorns
- ¼ cup fish sauce
Vegetables
- 1 to 2 sweet corn peeled and each cut into four to six portions
- 2 to 3 potatoes peeled and cut into wedges
- ¼ squash peeled, deseeded and cut into wedges
- 4 bunches bok choy split into halves and rinsed well
Instructions
Cook the pork
- Place the spare ribs in a pot, cover with water and bring to the boil. Allow to boil for ten minutes until scum has risen to the surface.
- Dump the pork into a strainer and rinse to remove all impurities.
- Put the pork ribs in a clean pot and cover with water.
- Add the onion, garlic, peppercorns and fish sauce.
- Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about an hour or until the meat is fork tender.
Cook the vegetables
- Scoop out the pork and move to a bowl.
- Discard the onion, garlic and peppercorns.
- Drop the corn into the broth and cook for ten minutes.
- Add the potatoes and cook for ten minutes.
- Add the squash wedges and cook for five minutes.
- Lower the bok choy halves on the hot broth press down lightly to make sure all the stalks are submerged in the hot liquid. Leave to cook for a few minutes before pressing in leaves.
Complete the soup
- Return the pork ribs to the pot and simmer just until the meat is heated through, and the bok choy leaves are wilted.
- Taste the broth and add more fish sauce, if needed.
- Divide the pork ribs and vegetables among four bowls, ladle in hot broth and serve.
