We can thank the region of Fujian and its immigrants for our favorite Filipino-Chinese dishes: siomai, siopao, lumpia, mami, and more. Some credit chicken mami’s popularity to the singular efforts of one man: Ma Mon Luk, a Chinese immigrant who arrived in Binondo, Manila in the 1920s. He sold bowls of noodle soup with chicken—later called "mami"—to local workers and students, using a bamboo pole to carry the bowls and ingredients through the streets.
Ma Mon Luk gained so much popularity that he eventually opened a restaurant named after himself: Ma Mon Luk Mami King. Filipino food vendors also began offering their own take on mami, with every adaptation nudging the dish to reflect local palates: with Filipino ingredients such as calamansi and patis, and variations like pork and beef mami.
Today, chicken mami is enjoyed across the country in homes, carinderias, and Ma Mon Luk’s surviving 90-year old restaurant. It endures as a comforting staple of Filipino-Chinese cuisine: a simple steaming bowl of chicken soup with chewy egg noodles and tender chicken.
How did mami get its name?
You’ll find two common stories about mami's etymology. The first is the most straightforward: Mami comes from Chinese "ma" (meat) and "mi" (egg noodles), emphasizing the simple combination of meat and noodles that forms the heart of the dish.
The second story comes from Ma Mon Luk, who has asserted that “mami” is a combination of his name (Ma) and “mi” (noodles). Essentially, “mami” was a way of branding the soup as Ma Mon Luk’s own creation—Ma’s noodles.
Key components of chicken mami
- Chicken stock. To make a flavorful chicken soup, a variety of chicken parts—the ones rich in bones, cartilage, and connective tissue—are simmered for hours with ginger, onions, and other aromatics to make a stock.
- Noodles. Yellow egg noodles like pancit canton, lomi, or miki have a soft, slightly chewy bite that’s good in soups.
- Chicken. Chicken breast and thighs are poached until tender, then shredded into bite-sized pieces.
- Add-ins. Usually shredded cabbage, hard-boiled eggs, minced scallions, and fried garlic.
- Condiments. Toyo, patis, and fresh calamansi help you season your bowl of mami to your liking. Chili flakes are welcome, too, if you like your soup spicy!
How do you make chicken stock?
Homemade chicken stock is easy, healthy, and extremely delicious. All you need are the right parts of the chicken that add depth, body, and complexity. You can make a great stock from a whole bird, meat and skin and all, but you’ll have a lot of overcooked meat afterwards.
Another way to make chicken stock is to use chicken bones. These can be the bones themselves, like scraps left over from a roast chicken. You can also use a combination of bones and bony, cartilage-y parts like chicken wings, necks, and feet. You’ll find the latter pre-packed as soup stock packs at groceries.
Leftover stock can be cooled and frozen, either in ice cubes for a small splash or in quarts for future chicken mami cravings.
Ingredients
Chicken Stock + Chicken
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 medium onions, halved
- 2 pcs ginger, halved crosswise
- 1 whole garlic, halved
- 500g chicken bones (neck, wings)
- 10 cups water
- ¼ cup patis or fish sauce, more to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 knot lemongrass
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 kg chicken thighs
For Serving
- 4 servings egg noodles, cooked to package instructions
- shredded chicken
- 3 cups chopped cabbage, cut into ½- to 1-inch strips
- 2 cups julienned carrots, blanched
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
Make chicken stock: Heat oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic halves cut side down to lightly brown until fragrant. Add chicken bones and sear until brown on all sides and fond has formed at the bottom of the pot. Fond is flavor!
Add water to the pot with bay leaves, patis, lemongrass, sugar, and peppercorns. Once liquid starts to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the stock for 1 hour.
Poach chicken: Add chicken thighs to the simmering stock and poach until cooked through, about 40 minutes. Using a slotted spoon and/or a pair of tongs, transfer chicken thighs from the stock to a large plate or chopping board to cool. Once cool enough to handle, shred chicken into small pieces.
Finish stock: Taste stock and season to taste with more patis if needed. Once you’re happy with the seasoning, strain the stock to a smaller pot. Discard the leftover chicken bones and aromatics.
Assemble and serve: Divide cooked egg noodles between individual bowls. Ladle chicken stock over the noodles, then garnish with shredded chicken, chopped cabbage, carrots, and hard-boiled eggs. Serve hot.
