Midnight Express: Mikael Daez tries Pinoy versions of int’l dishes mole and laksa

Saksi's Midnight Express kicked off this week with two international dishes given a Filipino twist. Get a taste of the Mexican dish pata mole and the Peranakan recipe laksa.

Pinoys' take on Mexico's mole



If the Mexicans have mole, the Filipinos have its own version: Pampanga's pata mole!

According to old tales, nuns during the Spanish era ones who invented this dish. It is said that an archbishop visited their convent but they didn't have something grand to serve. So, they just used the ingredients they could find in their garden and added duck meat.

The archbishop liked the dish and asked the nuns for its name. All they could say was, "mole," which means "mix."

To serve this Mexican-inspired dish in your home, all you need are garlic, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, chorizo, and tomato sauce. Don't forget the pata or pork leg, of course!

Cook the pork leg until it becomes soft.

Saute the garlic, onions, and tomatoes. Then add the potatoes, chorizo, and tomato sauce. When it boils, add the cooked pork leg.

After tasting the pata mole for the first time, host Mikael Daez said,  "One of my favorite international dishes na ginawang Pinoy! Basta you need to try it. Tikman n'yo!"  

Laksa, rainy-day-perfect soup



From Mexico, Midnight Express went back to Asia to feature a Peranakan dish: laksa, or spicy noodle soup, named by CNN Travel as one of the 50 most delicious dishes in the world!

When you say "Peranakan cuisine," it means that the dish is a fusion of Malay and Chinese. And according to an owner of a local laksa house in the Philippines, the dish is like adobo in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

It's not clear where the word "laksa" originated. Some say it's from the Persian word "laksah,"  meaning vermicelli noodle. Others say it's from a Chinese word that means "spicy sand," because  the dish has mashed "hipon." There's another theory that says it's from a Hokkien word that means "dirty," given to the dish because of its secret spices.

To Daez, laksa is equivalent to the Philippines' mami and lugaw. Perfect for the rainy season!   

He also noted, "Nakakatuwang isipin na halos lahat ng bansa sa Asia may sabaw kung saan matitikman mo talaga ang flavors na gusto ng mga tao." — Trisha Macas/BM, GMA News