Mami (pronounced: ) is a popular

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

noodle soup Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such as ...

made with

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...

noodles Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, Indo ...

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

and the addition of meat (

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

) or wonton dumplings. It is related to the ''

pancit Pancit ( ), also spelled pansít, is a general term referring to various traditional noodle dishes in Filipino cuisine. There are numerous types of pancit, often named based on the noodles used, method of cooking, place of origin, or the ingre ...

'' class of noodle dishes, and the noodles themselves are sometimes called ''pancit mami''.

Origin

Its creation is generally attributed to

Ma Mon Luk Ma Wen-lu (), known in the Philippines as Ma Mon Luk (), was a Chinese people, Chinese immigrant best known in the Philippines for his eponymous restaurant, and for being the alleged creator of mami soup, mami (a noodle soup) and popularizer of si ...

, a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to the Philippines who began selling noodles served with

chicken broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

and

chicken meat Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world. Owing to the relative ease and low cost of raising chickens—in comparison to mammals such as cattle or hogs—chicken meat (commonly called just "chicken") and chicken eggs have becom ...

Binondo, Manila Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

in 1920. He originally worked as an ambulant vendor, carrying the food in two metal vats on a pole much like ''

taho Tahô () is a Philippine snack food made of fresh Tofu#Varieties, soft/silken tofu, ''arnibal'' (sweetener and flavoring), and Sago, sago pearl (similar to tapioca pearls). This staple comfort food is a signature sweet and tahô peddlers ca ...

'' vendors. Thus, mami was originally

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

, but with the success of his business, Ma eventually opened up an eatery and ultimately a chain of restaurants bearing his name. As a street vendor, Ma originally called his dish "''gupit''", after the Tagalog word for “cut”, because he would cut the noodles and chicken with scissors. He later decided to call the dish "Ma mi" (). However, Ma did not have the name trademarked. Soon, imitation noodle soups sprouted with a name that was, personally, his.Jose Victor Z. Torres, The Legend of Ma Mon Luk
''Rogue'', April 2017 However, the claim that Ma invented the ''mami'', which originates from the media company

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

, is likely untrue. According to linguist Gloria Chan-Yap, ''mami'' is Fujianese in origin, not

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

; in

Philippine Hokkien Philippine Hokkien is a dialect of the Hokkien language of the Southern Min branch, primarily spoken vernacularly by Chinese Filipinos in the Philippines, where it serves as the local Chinese ''lingua franca'', primarily spoken as an oral langu ...

literally means "meat noodles" (). Like the

siopao ''Siopao'' (), is a Philippine steamed bun with various fillings. It is the indigenized version of the Fujianese ''baozi'', introduced to the Philippines by Hokkien immigrants during the Spanish colonial period. It is a popular snack in the Phi ...

, the noodle dish already existed in

Filipino-Chinese cuisine Filipino Chinese cuisine is a style of Filipino cuisine influenced from Chinese cuisine. History Filipino cuisine is influenced principally by China and Spain have been integrated with pre-colonial indigenous Filipino cooking practices. In t ...

before Ma popularized his version.

References

Philippine soups Philippine fusion cuisine Philippine noodle dishes Chinese fusion cuisine {{soup-stub

Origin

See also

References