Manang's Pancit Sotanghon

This is one of the many ways I cook sotanghon...my typical ingredients are the usual ingredients for pancit: holy trinity of ginisang bawang, sibuyas, at kamatis (sauteed garlic, onions, and tomatoes), carrots and cabbage, with chicken broth, chicken/pork meat or shrimps and squid, with some soy sauce, patis, oyster sauce, ground pepper, and a drizzle of sesame oil

However, one day I had an intense craving, and all I had at home were the garlic and onions, carrots, and celery, with some leftover chicken and turkey breasts. And in my pantry were (Asian ingredientrs) canned baby corn, straw mushrooms, water chestnut, and quail eggs...and I had in my freezer several pints of chicken broth.

Hmmm...seems like I can make a somewhat more-Chinese-ish version of pancit. So I did, and I managed to satisfy my cravings.

Ingredients:


2 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced thinly
3 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1/2 the contents of each canned straw mushrooms, baby corns, quail eggs, and water chestnut (don't forget to drain)
1 cup cubed chicken/turkey breasts
2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
cornstarch+water to thicken a bit

You might be wondering why only half of the canned products...well, I had to save some for another batch this time using a cup of squid and 1/2 pound of shrimps (seafood version, which I made the next day).

1 pack of bean vermicelli noodles (about 14 ounces?)
hot water to soak noodles in for 5 minutes
2-3 cups chicken broth to cook the noodles in
2 tbsp oyster sauce
soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp anatto oil (optional- see here for instructions)
drizzle of sesame oil


Instructions:


Soak the noodles in HOT water for 5 minutes. Drain well.

Sautee, in the following order, garlic (until golden brown), onions (until translucent), carrots, celery, baby corn, water chestnut, and straw mushrooms for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from pan.  Put the 2 cups broth into the pan and let boil. Thicken a bit with cornstarch-water mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the veggies back into the pan, add the quail eggs and stir until veggies are coated with the slightly thickened sauce. When it starts to boil/bubble, cook some more, uncovered, for additional 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Set aside. (Note: I gave some to my friend Anna, with the noodles separated. She ate this with plain rice, not realizing that it was supposed to go with the noodles, which she was saving for another meal time, thinking it was complete pancit already.)

For the noodles, bring the broth to a boil, season with the other ingredients except sesame oil, and dump the wet noodles into it. Stir, stir, stir until noodles have absorbed the broth. Bite into a noodle. If it still is too tough, add some more broth (or water).  Do not be too concerned if it is not that salty, as you can easily adjust the salt with soy sauce once you serve.  Remove from heat, drizzle with sesame oil, and stir.

Pour the prepared sauce/veggie/meat (or seafood) on top of hot noodles.

Enjoy!

Pancit Palabok

Another ubiquitous recipe on the net, pancit palabok is one form of pancit that has a distinct seafood flavor, especially shrimp. Some add tinapa flakes. I have prepared this before as simply as only having shrimps, eggs and crushed chicharon as toppings, using sotanghon. But what I like using best for noodles is the thicker pancit luglog. I could not find that during my last trip to the Asian store, so I got what came close: banh pho (16-oz). Luglog is thick and round. Banh pho is thick and flat. Both are made from rice. This was my first time cooking banh pho, and I liked it for palabok.

I had some frozen cuttlefish that I thought would go well with palabok in lieu of squids. That was a good idea, I found out minutes later. My sons and I loved eating this, even brought to school/work for lunch. Hubby is never interested in any pancit I cook, more so if it had a fishy smell like this. But he does not voice any complaint during meal time, I am glad!

Ingredients:
sauce --
1 packet Mama Sita's Palabok flavoring
2 cups lobster broth (I had frozen ones) or water

everything else --
16-oz banh pho noodles (rice sticks)
water to cook noodles in
3 cloves garlic
(amount below depends on how much you want)
squids/cuttlefish (I used 8-10 pcs of cuttlefish)
shrimps (deveined and decapitated, shelled; 1 lb)
eggs (4)
crushed chicharon (1 cup)
chives or spring onions, snipped
calamansi (if you have them; I don't)


Instructions:

Cook the sauce according to package instructions. Use more liquid if too thick.

Boil water in a big pot. Slice the squids or cuttlefish into rings (run hot water for several seconds if frozen and too hard to slice). Poach for about 1 minute and set aside. Place the eggs carefully into the water (to cook for about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, poach the shrimps for 2 minutes (or when they turn pink completely). Set aside. Place the noodles and stir from time to time to keep from sticking together. cook for about 7-8 minutes (keep munching on some to check for doneness; should be al dente). Strain eggs and noodles and rinse with cold water until you are sure noodles do not stick together. Then warm up again by rinsing with hot tap water.

Assemble by placing the noodles at the base. Pour sauce over noodles. Sprinkle shrimps and cuttlefish/squid, crushed chicharon, and chives/spring onions. Add sliced eggs. Enjoy with calamansi if you have them.

Pancit Canton-Sotanghon

I really did not feel like posting about this, since the recipe for Pancit is now ubiquitous. This recipe is not at all special over the others, I am sure. However, some co-workers were very interested after having a taste (despite some of them hesitating at first to taste pancit then became converted). Plus, keeping in mind that my kids might someday want to cook this and will have to refer to my online kusina for guidance, I am now compelled to post my recipe here, the way I prepare pancit.

For noodles, I either use bihon or sotanghon, with or without canton. The rest of ingredients and the method are practically the same for all these types of noodles. For my non-Filipino audience, the sotanghon (bean vermicelli) is probably the most accessible, even available at Hannaford (sometimes, a Japanese version is available, although more expensive). I get mine from Spice of Life. The bihon and canton are noodles I get only from the Asian stores in Portland.

For the stock, I use a combination of chicken and lobster, which I prepare (usually with minimal salt) ahead of time and freeze for future use.

Meat can be chicken (I use leftover roasted chicken) and/or pork, and I love combining with shrimps.

For veggies, I like using garlic, onion, and tomatoes as basic for sauteeing. The rest of the veggies may be a combination of carrots, sugar snap or snow peas (alternative is green beans), bell peppers, and either napa cabbage (I prefer this) or regular cabbage.

Ingredients: (approximate)
3 tbsp oil
6 cups chicken stock (with or without lobster; if using, may use half of each); have extra on hand in case you will need more)
1 pkg (500 g) bean vermicelli (sotanghon)
1 pkg (16 oz) pancit canton
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
3 medium tomatoes, sliced
1-2 cups cooked chicken (or you may want to sautee this first before the above veggies)
1 lb shelled shrimps
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 cup sliced bell peppers
2 cups (or 1 small pk) snap peas or green beans
1 napa cabbage, cut crosswise in strips
6 tbsp oyster sauce (I got the idea from MaMely)
soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sesame oil

OPTIONAL
green onions, sliced, for garnishing
kalamansi and patis or toyo for further taste adjustment (mainly for Filipino eaters; I would if I were in the Philippines; I do not have access to kalamansi here.)

Instructions:

Soak the bean vermicelli in very hot tap water for about 25 minutes then drain.

Heat oil and sautee garlic until fragrant, then onions until translucent, then tomatoes until they caramelize. Add carrots, snap peas/beans, and bell peppers and stir fry 1 minute. Add chicken/lobster stock and let boil 1 minute. Add shrimps and cook 1 minute, then add napa cabbage and cook another 2 minutes (or until shrimps are cooked). Dish out the veggies/meat. Adjust taste of stock by adding oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Making sure stock is in brisk boil, add pancit canton followed by sotanghon and cook for about 2 minutes (or until noodles are cooked), stirring constantly. Do not overcook. Drizzle the sesame oil and transfer to a plate. Arrange the meat/veggies as topping. May add green onions as topping.

Note: I made this when I thought my son's classmate (of Filipino parents) would be staying for lunch (they were supposed to work on their science fair project). Just as I placed the noodles, the foster parent came to get the classmate, and I sort of overcooked the noodles because of the distraction. It still turned out great, apparently. I packed some and asked my kids to bring to my in-laws. They loved it. I brought the leftover to work that night (because a co-worker wanted the recipe, but she was not working that night, sorry for her), and my co-workers that night loved it. One could not stop saying how good it was. The others were not too open to new dishes (like my husband) so they tasted just the noodles (not into veggie/meat/shrimp mix, apparently) and loved the taste nevertheless.