Tag: kabatiti

Misua – Patola (Kabatiti) Soup

Soup

Misua Soup with Patola, also known as Kabatiti or Luffa Squash

This is a very easy soup to make and yet very appetising.

It can be eaten as a soup on its own or with boiled rice for lunch or supper.  It can also be eaten as a quick merienda, meal between lunch and supper.

Ideal to give to children who just came home from school. Instead of cola and biscuit, why not serve this soup, it is healthier and gorgeous tasting.

If you do not happen to have patola, you can easily substitute courgette, which the Americans call zucchini.

You can get the misua noodles in Oriental supermarkets.  It takes a minute to cook it.

Misua – Patola (Kabatiti) Soup

  • 6 Cups of chicken stock or 6 cups of water and two chicken OXO cubes
  • 1/2 lb minced pork
  • 2 rolls of misua noodles
  • 1 large patola/luffa squash/kabatiti
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 finely diced onion
  • 2 tbps cooking oil
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce/patis (salt can be used instead)
  • ground black pepper
    —————————

    Saute the garlic and the onions in hot cooking oil till brown.
  • Stir in the minced pork.
  • When the pork had turned slightly golden, add the stock, patis(salt) and pepper.
  • Cover and boil for 25 minutes.
  • Drop in the patola; cover and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  • Now separate the misua and drop into the boiling broth.
  • Cover but turn off the stove.
  • Wait for a minute and it will be ready to serve as a delicious snack, lunch or supper.

Luffa Squash – (Kabatiti)

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Luffa Squash – (Kabatiti)

Luffa Squash is known in Manila, Philippines as patola and as kabatiti amongst Ilocano speaking people of Northern Luzon.

When I was a little girl in Marag, we used to tell the time by the flowering of some plants. Kabatiti usually flowers at around 5:00pm. So those who are on cooking duties would rush home to start preparing supper.

The flowers of kabatiti, like those of squash and pumpkins can be eaten as well. It is delicious blanched into a salad with tomatoes and the local bagoong (fermented fish). It is delicious added to the staple dish of Ilocanos which is the pakbet or pinakbet. It could also be cooked in dinengdeng.


The kabatiti or Luffa Squash is a complex vegetable which is made of vascular netted sponge-like material. When left to dry, the vegetable is ideal as a bathing scrubber. In fact the luffah cloth now available in the market are made from these kabatitis of luffas.