Miswa sa Patola

Posted byNoriePosted inLegumes, Pancits, Pastas and Rice, Pork, Recipe, Soup, VegetablesTags:

(Pork Meatballs with Patola and Miswa noodles)

Miswa sa Patola with Japanese fine noodles

“Miswa Sa Patola” is one of the names of this authentic Filipino dish. It is also called “bola-bolang (meatballs) may miswa at patola”. The very fine flour noodles in the soup is called “miswa” (Click on the word miswa to take you to the Glossary link).

The pictures above have Japanese fine flour noodles instead of the usual Chinese/Filipino miswa fine flour noodles. But the pictures below have the authentic miswa.

It is a soup with fine Chinese flour noodles available at Asian stores. The soup is cooked with pork meatballs usually with chopped or ground fresh shrimp, with or without other ingredients such as carrots, onions, and sometimes water chestnuts. It uses an egg as a binder. Slices of gourd or squash called Patola are added last. Patola (click to take you to Glossary link) becomes loofa when it matures and dries. The squash or the gourd has to be picked very young for eating otherwise it will be very stringy. Another variety is called Chinese okra because it has ridges but it is almost the same as the smooth skinned patola.

Meatball Recipe:

  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1/4 lb. shrimp, peeled and chopped fine (can be omitted)
  • ½ medium onion chopped fine
  • ½ c carrot chopped fine
  • ½ c celery chopped fine
  • 1-1/4 tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. black pepper
  • ¼ tsp. white ground pepper
  • 1 egg

Soup Ingredients:

  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
  • ½ medium onion minced
  • 1 Patola peeled and sliced crosswise 1/4 in. thick
  • OR 2 small zucchinis if no patola (substitute)
  • 2 cups Fine flour noodles (miswa) broken to about 4” long
  • 5 to 6 cups water
  • 1 shrimp bouillon cube
  • 1 TBS. oil
  • 2 tsp. Patis (optional)

Heat oil in a large pot and sauté garlic until fragrant and drop the onions. Sauté together until onions are soft and transparent. Add the water, boil, then add the shrimp bouillon cube and dissolve. Drop in spoonfuls of the pork/shrimp mixture shaped in balls. Simmer until the meatballs are floating, about 5 minutes. Add the noodles; continue to simmer until the noodles are almost done. It only takes a minute,

Drop in the patola slices and wait till it boils again. Turn the heat off and leave covered to cook the patola. Season to your taste with more salt and pepper. Or you can use patis.

If you don’t have patola, you can use zucchinis.  See picture below:

I had a hankering for this soup one day. I had all the other ingredients to make it but no patola; however, I had a couple of small zucchinis.  I got brave and used them instead. To my surprise, I did not find any difference in flavor between zucchini and patola.  In fact I liked zucchini better because it held its texture a lot better than patola.  Patola will almost dissolve in your mouth when you eat it after it is cooked.  Zucchini also imparts a little sweeter flavor.  Just make sure you buy the smaller ones which are younger.

Now that I know, I can make this soup any time without waiting until I could make a trip to the Asian store to get patola. 

Eat it with white rice of course and use Soy Sauce with drops of lemon or calamansi as dip. Crush a labuyo pepper in it if you have it and it if you like it spicy hot.