It’s noodles for May’s Kulinarya Cooking Club theme. Caroline and I are the hosts for this month and we’ve decided on pancit. When you say pancit (noodles) in Filipino, it usually refers to pancit bihon the most common and popular but there are several pancit or noodle dishes in Filipino cuisine: pancit canton, sotanghon (mung bean/vermicelli), pancit luglog, palabok, miki, mami,lomi..etc,
Pancit refers to noodles (Asian noodles); the word pancit comes from Hokkien pian+e+sit meaning “something that is conveniently cooked” and did not originally mean noodles (from Kulinarya A Guidebook To Philippine Cuisine).
Pancit Canton and pancit bihon guisado are my favorite noodle dishes. Pancit bihon is always present in every handaan ( party/feast) especially birthday celebrations, one may not have a cake but you can bet your last penny that there will be pancit bihon there ( these days though spaghetti is stealing the show).
Pancit canton is equally delicious in my book. In college, my sisters and I thrived on instant pancit canton. There’s a particular local brand here that’s became our favorite; when I got married, it’s also what my husband and I love to eat for breakfast and for snack. As much as I love that brand of instant noodles, I said goodbye to it when I learned how to make pancit canton from scratch, you would too because the taste is way better than instant and it’s definitely healthy; it takes longer to prepare but well worth the effort. I find that it’s an easy way to feed veggies to my kids, they love pancit canton, they don’t mind that it has lots of veggies.
Pancit can be oily and calamansi juice helps cut the fat or oily taste, for me it’s not as delicious without it but of course calamansi is not available in other parts of the world..lime or lemon is a good substitute; squeeze some over the pancit just before serving.
In the photo I put chopsticks beside but we don’t really use chopsticks in eating noodles except when we eat it by itself. But pancit ( especially sauteed ones like canton, bihon and sotanghon) is considered as ulam ( a dish eaten with steamed rice) here, my husband for one, seldom eats it without rice, and rice of course is easier to eat with spoon and fork 🙂
these are the veggies that I usually add, not included in the photo are the mushrooms and peas; most of the time it’s just carrots, mushroom and snow peas ( sweet pea pods)..
sometimes I add frozen peas too..
..and sometimes I forget to add some ingredients back in, this picture is missing the liver which I already cooked and set aside..lol
PANCIT CANTON
good for 4 persons
Feel free to make variations esp to the amount of veggies used, pancit canton normally has some seafoods like shrimp or scallops but my version doesn’t include any due to my husband’s allergy…one more tip; after adding the noodles, and you feel like the you’ve added too much liquid, raise the heat to high, that way the stock/liquid will evaporate faster and your noodles will not get soggy; otherwise add more stock or water as necessary and always check the seasoning before and after adding the noodles.
Ingredients:
220 g chicken liver
sesame oil
10 ounces chicken breast or thigh fillet
garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, minced
snow peas ( tsitsaro)
cauliflower
carrots, sliced thinly
mushroom ( shiitake or champignons ( button mushroom), fresh or canned)
2- 3 cups chicken stock or water ( or pre-cook the chicken by boiling it and use that water instead)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
soy sauce
fish sauce ( optional)
dried canton noodles, about 8 ounces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
quail eggs, optional
Directions:
Heat about 2 teaspoons sesame oil in a large deep pan; saute chicken liver for a few minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. In the same pan, add a litte more sesame oil and saute minced garlic and onion until onion becomes transparent then add chicken pieces ( cooked or raw), season with salt and pepper and cook until nicely browned and caramelized. Add the veggies, cauliflower first, then carrots, snow peas and mushroom. Pour in chicken stock, season with oyster sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce if using. Bring to a boil and let simmer,covered for 5 minutes then add pancit canton. cook until the noodles are tender and most liquid is absorbed/gone, don’t let it dry out. Add the cooked chicken liver and quail eggs just before turning off the heat. Serve hot with calamansi.
♥Thanks for reading and have a nice day!♥
Pancit Canton ( Kulinarya Cooking Club)
Ingredients
- 220 G CHICKEN LIVER
- SESAME OIL
- 10 OUNCES CHICKEN BREAST OR THIGH FILLET
- GARLIC CLOVES MINCED
- 1 LARGE ONION MINCED
- SNOW PEAS TSITSARO
- CAULIFLOWER
- CARROTS SLICED THINLY
- MUSHROOM SHIITAKE OR CHAMPIGNONS ( BUTTON MUSHROOM, FRESH OR CANNED)
- 2- 3 CUPS CHICKEN STOCK OR WATER OR PRE-COOK THE CHICKEN BY BOILING IT AND USE THAT WATER INSTEAD
- 2 TABLESPOONS OYSTER SAUCE
- SOY SAUCE
- FISH SAUCE OPTIONAL
- DRIED CANTON NOODLES ABOUT 8 OUNCES
- SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
- QUAIL EGGS OPTIONAL
Instructions
- HEAT ABOUT 2 TEASPOONS SESAME OIL IN A LARGE DEEP PAN; SAUTE CHICKEN LIVER FOR A FEW MINUTES. TRANSFER TO A PLATE AND SET ASIDE. IN THE SAME PAN, ADD A LITTE MORE SESAME OIL AND SAUTE MINCED GARLIC AND ONION UNTIL ONION BECOMES TRANSPARENT THEN ADD CHICKEN PIECES ( COOKED OR RAW), SEASON WITH SALT AND PEPPER AND COOK UNTIL NICELY BROWNED AND CARAMELIZED. ADD THE VEGGIES, CAULIFLOWER FIRST, THEN CARROTS, SNOW PEAS AND MUSHROOM. POUR IN CHICKEN STOCK, SEASON WITH OYSTER SAUCE, SOY SAUCE AND FISH SAUCE IF USING. BRING TO A BOIL AND LET SIMMER,COVERED FOR 5 MINUTES THEN ADD PANCIT CANTON. COOK UNTIL THE NOODLES ARE TENDER AND MOST LIQUID IS ABSORBED/GONE, DON’T LET IT DRY OUT. ADD THE COOKED CHICKEN LIVER AND QUAIL EGGS JUST BEFORE TURNING OFF THE HEAT. SERVE HOT WITH CALAMANSI.