Pancit choca

Black from squid ink, and dry rather than a soup -- the ink goes in at the end.

Fish, Shellfish. Not vegetarian — contains chicken broth, fish, fish sauce, shellfish.

Ingredients

• 400 g bihon rice noodles
• 600 g squid, cleaned, bodies in rings
• 4 sachets squid ink, about 16 g
• 600 ml fish or chicken broth, hot
• 1 onion and 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 30 ml fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons oil
• calamansi wedges, to serve

Method

1. THIS ONE IS BLACK AND IT IS DRY. It is not a soup: the noodles drink the broth and what is left is a glossy black tangle.
2. Soak the bihon in cold water 15 minutes, then drain.
3. Fry the onion and garlic in the oil, add the tomatoes and press them down until they collapse, about 5 minutes.
4. SEAR THE SQUID FAST -- 60 seconds, no more -- and lift it straight out. Squid is tender for a minute and then tough for forty, and it goes back in at the very end.
5. Add the broth and the fish sauce, bring to a boil, then the drained noodles. Toss until they have taken up nearly all the liquid, 4 to 5 minutes.
6. STIR THE INK IN LAST, off the heat. Boiled hard it turns bitter and grey-brown instead of black.
7. Return the squid, toss once, and serve with calamansi.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Philippines · All recipes