Batsui is a Filipino style soup prepared with pork meat, pork spleen, pork kidneys and pork liver together with ginger and flour vermicelli
Pampanga indeed is the food capital of the Philippines, this province has some of the most delicious recipes Philippines has to offer. Pampanga is also known for the heavy use of offal in its dishes which all boils down to history. As most of us knows Pampanga is surrounded by two of the largest American offshore bases up until the late 80’s, with that in mind this place was always populated with American GI’s that heavily influenced its cuisine indirectly. I said indirectly because this place did not inherit the American burgers, fried chicken, steaks and hotdogs but due to the heavy use of meat and most Americans opted for the good cuts Pampanga locals was left with offal. Knowing the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Filipinos these odd parts were turned into wonderful dishes that we know of today like Kare Kare, Sisig, Lengua and Chicharon to name some.
Another of those amazing recipes is this Batsui, basically it is their version of Batchoy where it is loaded with offal served in a clear pork soup that comes with or without misua (flour vermicelli). It’s such a nice dish to have on a cold rainy day, very comforting and nutritious. In the Philippines it’s hard to recreate this as it is using offal that is not consumed by Western countries like pancreas, spleen and kidneys while it can be replaced with just liver if you have a chance try to ask your local butcher to save you these parts as it is a totally different experience without this on your Batsui.
