Pancit

Noodles cooked by absorbing broth in the pan, a ladle at a time.

Chicken, Pork. Not vegetarian — contains chicken, chicken broth, pork.

Ingredients

• 300 g bihon rice vermicelli
• 400 g chicken thigh, in strips
• 150 g pork belly, in strips
• 1 litre chicken broth, hot
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 200 g cabbage, shredded
• 150 g green beans, in lengths
• 1 onion and 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons oil
• calamansi or lime wedges, to serve

Method

1. SOAK THE BIHON IN COLD WATER FOR 10 MINUTES ONLY, then drain. Not in hot water and not for longer — it finishes cooking in the pan and over-soaked noodles turn to paste there.
2. Brown the pork and chicken in the oil, add the onion and garlic, then the soy sauce.
3. Add the vegetables and stir-fry 3 minutes, then lift about half of them out and keep them aside.
4. Pour in a third of the hot broth and bring it to a boil, then add the drained noodles.
5. NOW ADD THE REST OF THE BROTH A LADLE AT A TIME, tossing with tongs, letting each one be absorbed before the next. This is the whole technique: the noodles are cooked BY the broth and take its flavour, where noodles boiled separately and tossed in sauce stay bland and slippery.
6. Stop when the pan is nearly dry and the noodles are tender but still separate, about 8 minutes.
7. Return the reserved vegetables so some keep their bite, and serve with calamansi to squeeze over — the acid at the table is not optional.

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