Misua Soup with Meatballs (a.k.a. Almondigas)

It is a cold and rainy day today, the perfect time for this Filipino comfort food. This dish is also called almondigas in the Philippines (apparently from the Spanish "albondigas," which means meatballs). Misua (or miswa) is a brittle (when raw) thin noodle made from either cornstarch or wheat flour, which cooks very quickly. I recently discovered a local farm that grows and sells Asian vegetables, and it's 5 minutes away from our house, so you can imagine my euphoria -- the farm is run by a Vietnamese woman and her American
husband. I went the other day and was so happy to find patola (also called sponge gourd or loofah gourd) which is the traditional vegetable to put in this dish. I also got some zucchini blossoms (priceless!) and talbos ng kamote, the baby leaves of sweet potato. I will stuff, bread, and fry the blossoms, and make the talbos into adobo or salad - yum! But that's for later.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound ground pork or veal

2 medium carrot, peeled and grated

1 medium onion, minced

2 medium eggs

2 tablespoon flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

8 cups chicken broth

1 small patola (sponge gourd), peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick circles

3 1/2 ounces misua (dried cornstarch or wheat noodle threads; also spelled miswa)

2 teaspoons fish sauce, or to taste

1/4 cup chopped scallions, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Separate and loosen the misua strands, making sure there are no clumps of noodles.

Combine the pork, carrots, onions, egg and flour in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the mixture and shape into a ball; repeat with the rest of the mixture. (I use a small-size ice cream scoop to get uniform-sized balls.) Place the balls in a baking pan sprinkled with flour to keep them from sticking to each other.

Bring the broth to a boil in a deep pot; add the meat balls and simmer over medium heat until fully cooked, about 15 minutes. Add the patola and fish sauce; boil for 2 minutes.

Add the noodles. Simmer to 2 minutes over low heat. Serve hot. Garnish with scallions if desired. (Add the misua gradually, until the desired consistency of the soup is achieved; the misua will absorb some of the liquid.)