Filipino Pansit

When I was in college,  my roommates mother (Rachelle) would fix us her Filipino father's favorite dish. Our house of crazy girls would fill up her dinning table, hungry for a delicious and filling dinner that college kids rarely get! There was some flavor that made my mouth water every time she fixed it and I could never get enough of it! Anyhow, after 4 years of searching for what that dish was with it's awesome flavor, I found it! A fellow nurse I work with at the hospital I work at is Filipino and gave me a recipe for the dish I described to her.... She called it Pancit. 

(Krystal, Josey, Lindsay, Me, and Rachelle~ Walla Walla CC)

So what is Pancit? Pancit or Pansit.. is a basic Filipino dish that can be made many ways.. Like Pizza to an Italian.. how many different pizza's have you ever eaten? But there is a basic model to the recipe that makes it a pizza or pancit. Most pancits have chicken/pork with maybe shrimp for the meat, combined with a rice noodle and vegetables. It really is a simple dish just full of flavor. And it is always always.. topped off with lemon juice and soy sauce. 

So here is the recipe for the delicious goodness from my early college days. A few of the key ingredients that may not be so typical in your cupboards.. First is the Rice Stick. These are pretty easy to find down the Asian isle and pretty cheap and gluten free. (nice) This time around I bough a linguine style noodle just for kicks. I normally buy the regular spaghetti shaped. In the end I decided I liked both, but it was more noodle-ly with the linguine style.

Next is the Oyster Sauce.. this adds another savory dimension to the dish. And don't worry, it doesn't taste like fish. If you are like me and have a very hard time with the "fishy" taste, you need not fear my friend. No "fishy-ness' going on around here.

And I'm pretty sure I don't need to talk about the lemon and soy sauce, just don't forget those two. They are just yum.

Start out by thinly chopping your cabbage, to make it more of a shredded texture. Slice up a few celery stalks, 3-4. And I buy the pre-shredded carrots.. if you have a tool to shred carrots go for it, if not then the packaged ones work great.

Next chop up your onion and 3 chicken breasts. Saute the chicken, garlic and onion with oil in a wok. (If you don't have a wok, use a very large pot.) When done add in your chicken broth and seasonings. Pile on the veggie wheel (cabbage, carrots and celery). It is going to look huge at this point, but the cabbage cooks down to almost nothing. Bring to boil, cover with lid and then turn down heat and simmer.

Meanwhile, you need to prepare your rice noodles. In a large bowl soak your noodles in very very hot water.. for 3-5 min. Once they are softened, drain and add to the chicken and veggies. Toss all together! If there is still broth, allow the noodles to simmer with it and they will absorb the remaining. Serve warm with lemon slices and additional soy sauce.

Filipino Pancit

Ingredients

1 pkg of rice noodles or cornstarch stick (can be found at any Asian food market..it is inexpensive)

1 med onion chopped

1 clove garlic

1 c pork or chicken meat thinly sliced

Veggie Wheel and Seasonings:

1 C carrot sticks chopped

1 C thinly sliced celery

1 small head shredded cabbage

5 tbsp soy sauce

2 1/2 C soup stock (chicken is good)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp oyster sauce

Directions

In a wok or large skillet saute chicken garlic and onion until golden brown in a little oil. Add veggie wheel and seasonings and bring to boil.

Next you need to soak your rice noodles. Do this in a large bowl with hot water for about 5 mins or until soft. Drain and add to pan. Mix together and let rice noodles absorb some of the stock and finish cooking, about 3-5 mins.

Serve immediately! Makes a generous amount, good for about 4-5 adults.

Dont forget to top with soy sauce and give each person a lemon slice to sqyeeze over.
You would never guess that this would taste good but it is that particular flavor that I missed for 4 years!!!
Soy Sauce with Lemon juice!! SOO GOOD!! There is even soy sauce with the lemon juice or lime juice already added because it is so popular in the filipines! It is called...Toyomansi. If nothing else try just that the next time you are eating asian food!

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