Recipe: Pancit From SC's Party

SC's birthday party was a roaring success. All the kids came, had a great time swimming in the rec center pool, then came up to the party room and wolfed down our Pancit Canton.

So what is Pancit Canton?

Basically, it's a Filipino version of Chinese lo mein dishes. Lots of vegetables and some sort of meat and or seafood are cooked in a wok or other big skillet. Pancit canton noodles are a wheat noodle, but you can also use bihon (rice noodles), vermicelli noodles or bean thread noodles.

Pancit just means a noodle dish. There are hundreds of variations, and I have seen my in-laws use a lot of different combinations for this. Our recipe originally contained pork, but since we have often served it at gatherings that include Muslims, we have gotten in the habit of using chicken, which works just as well. We also substituted cole slaw mix for the original chopped cabbage and carrots, since it's much quicker.

We tend to make a LOT of this, so I've doubled the original recipe. When doing so for this party, we decided to cook the pancit noodles separately, and I think it was the best batch we've ever made. Certainly I had to hide the leftovers so I could have some for my dinner--the kids (10 nine to ten year olds, and two 5 year olds) not only ate what was served, they asked for more!

So here's our version, based on my sister-in-law's recipe. You can find another interesting version, along with many other Pinoy (Filipino) recipes at the Pinoy Cook.

PANCIT CANTON

1 pound boneless chicken breast (sliced into thin strips)
1/2 pound raw medium shrimp (shelled, deveined and cut in small pieces)
1 bag coleslaw mix OR 1/2 head green cabbage (slivered) & 4 carrots (julienned)
1/2 lb green beans (trimmed and julienned)
1 onion(chopped)
4 cups chicken stock
corn, canola or peanut oil
soy sauce
2 8oz packages of pancit canton (available at Asian food stores)

Heat oil in a large heavy frying pan or wok. Add the chicken strips and stir well until cooked.

Add the shrimp and cook until no longer pink.

Add the coleslaw mix, onions and green beans. Continue cooking, stirring well. Add soy sauce to taste.

IF COOKING NOODLES IN THE SAME PAN: Push meat and vegetables to one side and add 2-3 cups of the broth. Add the noodles to the broth, making sure they are well moistened. Add more broth as necessary to keep everything moist.Cover the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until noodles are cooked. Mix well, and serve!

IF COOKING NOODLES SEPARATELY: In a LARGE pot, bring chicken broth to a boil (for 2 packages, use a full quart of stock). Add noodles and cover. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then check for doneness--you will not need to do much stirring. When cooked, lift out the noodles and save the stock. Add the noodles to the meat/vegetable mixture. Moisten with reserved stock to your taste--pancit should be moist, but not soupy. Serve!

Garnishes: chopped green onions and lemon juice.

(The Man says you can add chopped hard boiled egg too, but this is plenty for me....)

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati    reddit