Midnight Express: Kapampangan’s sabo bulung Bonifacio, a simple yet flavorful ‘soup for the poor’

Published August 15, 2014 8:25pm

Saksi's Midnight Express segment on Wednesday featured a simple yet flavorful Kapampangan dish: sabo bulung Bonifacio, also known as "sabaw ng maralita" or "soup for the poor."

What makes sabo bulung Bonifacio so simple? It originally had three ingredients of rice, salt, and Bonifacio leaves.

In the days of the revolution against the Spanish, sabo bulung Bonifacio or Bonifacio leaf soup was used to curb the hunger of Katipuneros when they were defeated, according to old tales in Pampanga. The Katipuneros were only left with rice and salt, not knowing what to eat. Luckily, they found this plant, which was later named Bonifacio after Gat Andres Bonifacio, and used the leaves to make soup. Modern versions of sabo bulong Bonifacio contain onions, garlic, and upo.

To make this Kampangan soup, saute the garlic and onions. Then add water and upo. When it's already boiling, add the Bonifacio leaves.

So how does this soup taste like? According to Midnight Express host Mikael Daez, the Bonifacio leaf soup tastes like nilaga, but with a kick!

Buko strips as pancit noodles? Why not!

The coconut tree is not called "tree of life" for nothing. All its parts can be used for just about anything—even as a substitute for pancit noodles!

On Thursday's episode of Saksi's Midnight Express, host Mikael Daez went back to Manila from his Kapampangan food trip to check out a restaurant in Quezon City serving pancit made from coconut strips.

Filipinos are not new to the addition of coconut to their food and drinks. A lot of local recipes require the use of coconut juice or meat, such as ginataan, biko, and pies. But using it to complete pancit? Not very common.

According to restaurant in Quezon City serving pancit with coconut strips as noodles, the process is just the same.

Sautee onions. Add the carrots and Baguio beans. Sprinkle with pepper and pour soy sauce to taste. Once the ingredients are cooked, add the noodles—or in this case, the coconut strips.

What about the taste? Mikael, during his taste test, says there is no difference! You can't even the taste any coconut flavor. — Trisha Macas/VC, GMA News

It's Kapampangan Week this week on Saksi's "Midnight Express," hosted by Mikael Daez, on GMA 7.

Tags: midnightexpress, mikaeldaez, kapampangancuisine