Maki Soup

This is one of my favorite soups to have growing up. Occasionally after school, my mom would bring me to a tiny hole-in-the-wall noodle shop nearby and order a bowl or two.

To describe maki soup, it's a very, very thick brown soup with fluffy chunks of meat, usually made of pork, but sometimes beef and fish paste are used. A lot of noodle shops in my area would have vats of this soup. I personally like mine with noodles. Or just the soup with a bowl of white rice.

In my recipe, I will be using pork for the soup. I have tried 3 methods to get the meat to be almost the same as the noodle shops -- soft and chewy, almost meatball-like. But it's up to you which method you want to try.

1. Using pork tenderloin - this is what my family uses when they cook their version of the soup. I still find a bit different, because the meat just falls apart. According to my cousin, pulling the meat while marinating makes it fluffy.

2. Using pork shoulder - whacking it using the back of the knife to tenderize and slicing it into chunks. Makes it chewy, but Panda thinks it's still not the same.

3. Using pork shoulder, then mincing it - this is probably the closest I can make to something similar to the restaurants. I will be using this method.

The secret to getting very thick soup is to use tapioca starch. You can use cornstarch or a mix of it. But use with caution though, or you'll end up with a gloppy mess of a soup.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo pork shoulder, minced

Marinade:

• 2 egg whites
• Soy sauce
• Cornstarch
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
  

Soup:

• 4-5 cups beef stock or water mixed with a beef bouillon cube
• Soy sauce
• White pepper
• 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  
• 2-3 heaping tbsp tapioca starch mixed in 1/2 cup water
  
• Spring onion, chopped
• Egg noodles, optional
  

In a bowl, mix pork, egg whites, a bit of soy sauce for color, salt and black pepper to taste and cornstarch. Egg whites and cornstarch should be enough to cover the meat. Leave for 30 minutes.

In a pot, mix stock and soy sauce for color. Add salt and white pepper sparingly according to taste. Place in medium high heat until boiling. Once boiling, drop pork pieces one by one. Let boil until the pork pieces float on top.

Mix in tapioca starch mixture to thicken. Ideal thickness should be similar to raw egg whites. Add more of the mixture if needed to. Set heat to low, add egg yolks slowly to make thin egg strands.

If adding noodles, just boil noodles according to package directions, drain and place into bowls. Toss in a bit of vegetable or canola oil. Add soup on top of noodles. Garnish with spring onion. Serve hot.