Sardinas Pancit Sotanghon (Bean Thread Noodles with Sardines in Tomato Sauce)

Last week was all rainy here in my side of the world. Though I don't like rain (especially very hard rain that could stop me from doing things), I just love the sound of it. It kinda makes me feel relaxed. Ehhhr, I guess lazy is the right word...because all I wanna do on a rainy day is to either curl up on the couch with Ryan and the girls or take a long nap...and all I could think of is FOOD! But since I am feeling lazy, I don't want to do too much cooking...all I want is quick and easy comfort food. 

It was raining really hard last Wednesday so Ryan decided to just work from home. We ate some leftover nilaga for lunch...and when it was dinner time, the girls were saying they wanted pancit (noodles). With all the ingredients I put in the usual pancit I cook, I felt so tired already just thinking of how much chopping I had to make. Then suddenly I remember about this vermicelli soup with sardines that my mom used to make. I don't cook it often because Clarise and Cherlin aren't so into canned sardines. But I thought that they might like it if I make it into a guisado (sauted) version without the soup. So that's what I made. I was thinking that if they won't like it, I'll just make them eat the leftover mac & cheese in the ref...

 

...but guess what??! They loved the Sardinas Pancit Sotanghon! I couldn't believe that both of them finished a plateful of it in just a few minutes...and they asked for another serving. Too bad I didn't cook much! 

Since they didn't get enough of it, I had to cook it again last weekend...and just like last Wednesday, it was all gone before I knew it! :)

Pancit Bihon with Stir-Fried Ground Beef and Mixed Vegetables

Of all the Chinese influences to the Filipino Cuisine, I must say that noodles has been my most favorite since I was little. My mom used to cook all kinds of noodles common in the Philippines - bihon, canton, miki and sotanghon, in many different ways depending on what other ingredients are available in our refrigerator. I grew up having pancit (noodles) for lunch or dinner frequently, which could be chicken, seafood, pork or plain vegetable pancit. On special occasions, we usually have my mom's supreme pancit which has all the ingredients mentioned. But I don't remember her cooking it with beef. I am not sure if it's because beef takes longer to cook or because it is more expensive. Well, I guess it's the latter.  

The other week, the girls requested for Stir Fried Ground Beef with Mixed Veggies. Instead of serving it with rice, I thought of serving it with bihon noodles. Clarise and Cherlin both love anything noodles so I wasn't surprise when they both asked for a second serving. Ryan, on the other hand, is not a big fan of bihon, but I guess it was also good enough for him. The only thing he complained about is why I didn't cook more! :)

Before going to the recipe, let me announce the prize for our "Recreating PiTCC Recipes in Your Kitchen" Facebook Photo Contest! It will be a $50 Visa Gift Card and Lynn Alley's 50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker recipe book (worth $16.99). You don't need to be a blogger to join! This is open to all fans of Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner on Facebook. All you have to do is to submit a photo of any of our recipes that you recreated, and that's it. The photo with the most "likes" will win. For the complete contest details, just visit our Facebook Page! :)

And now, here's my Pancit Bihon with Stir-Fried Ground Beef and Mixed Vegetables recipe. Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday!!!

Pancit Canton

Pancit Canton is another dish of Chinese origin that has very much become a part of Filipino cuisine. Just like pancit palabok (the very first recipe I shared with you here), pancit canton is one of the many pancit variations in the Philippines. In pancit palabok, we use bihon or rice noodles, while in pancit canton, we use canton or egg noodles, which is the dried type that is flavored with crab or shrimp.

When cooking pancit canton, there are several ways of preparing the noodles. The most common method is to blanch the dried noodles in boiling water for a few seconds then draining them before stirring into the sauce. Some blanch the noodles, and after draining, lightly fry them in oil. Some like it crispy so they plunge the dry noodles in plenty of hot smoking oil until puffed, after which the meat, vegetables and sauce are poured over the fried noodles arranged on a serving plate.

Pancit canton is my daughters’ all-time favorite noodle dish so I cook it very often. Based from experience, blanching the noodles makes them soggy so I don’t do it. I prefer that they cook in broth so that they can absorb the flavor of the meat and/or seafood that I'm cooking it with.

Pancit canton is a very flexible noodle dish. You can cook this with whatever vegetables, meat or seafood you want. Want cauliflower? Bell pepper? Broccoli? Shrimp? Squid? Chicken? Pork? Go for it! No matter what you decide to add on it, it will surely be yummy!

Prep Time: 20 mins          Cook Time: ~30 mins           Servings: 6                                 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pancit canton (egg noodles)
• ½ cup pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ cup squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
• ¾ cup boiled chicken breast, cut into thin strips
• ¾ cup boiled pork, cut into strips
• 1 medium size carrot, julienned
• 1 bundle small pechay, washed & trimmed
• ½ cup snow peas. washed & trimmed
• ½ cup green beans, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken & pork broth (I use the broth from which I boiled the chicken & pork.)
• 1 cup shrimp extract (I made this from shrimp heads mashed using mortar and pestle then mixed with a cup of chicken broth and then strained.)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 4 Tbsp. fried garlic (optional - for topping)
• 2 pcs. Lemon or 4-6 pcs calamansi (optional)
• 1 cup egg omelet strips (cooked from 2 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt. This is optional. We just love topping our pancit canton with this.) 

Pancit Palabok

For my first recipe here on Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner, I want to share with you one of my husband's favorite, i.e., Pancit Palabok. 

Pancit or pansit is the term for noodles in Filipino cuisine. Noodles were introduced into the Philippines by the Chinese and have since been adopted into our local cuisine. According to Wikipedia, the term pancit is derived from the Hokkien pian i sit (Chinese: 便ê食; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: piān-ê-si̍t) which means "something conveniently cooked fast."

There are a lot of pancit variations in the Philippines and pancit palabok is one of them. The name "Palabok" which means "garnishing" in Filipino refers to the topping ingredients such as cooked shrimp, boiled pork, crushed chicharon, tinapa flakes, green onions and fried garlic that are used in this noodle dish. But the garnishings in Pancit Palabok are more than just decorations, they're what make this dish incredibly delicious. 

I remember how much my husband & I love to go to Goldilock's España across UST just so we could eat Pancit Palabok. During our college days, that was the most delicious pancit palabok we could afford with our tight student budget. When we got married, it's one of the first dishes that I tried to learn to cook, and has been a favorite weekend meal for us. 

If you love Goldilock's pancit palabok, I guess you'll love this even more. Check it out and see for yourself!

Prep Time: 20 mins          Cook Time: ~25 mins           Servings: 6                              

Ingredients:

• 1 lb rice noodles (bihon)

For the Sauce:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ lb ground pork
• 1 Tbsp anatto powder or 1 Tbsp annatto seeds soaked in 3 Tbsp water
• 2 cups pork broth (you may used the water from the boiled pork for topping or you may dissolve 2 Knorr pork cubes in 2 cups warm water)
• 1 cup shrimp juice
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• salt and pepper

For the Toppings:

• ½ lb shrimps, peeled and sauteed in oil just until it turns pink (reserve heads and peels for juice)
• ½ cup tinapa (smoked fish) flakes
• ½ cup ground chicharon
• 1 cup boiled pork, thinly sliced and sauteed in oil until golden brown
• 3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
• 3 stalks green onions, finely chopped
• 3 Tbsp fried garlic (you can use ready made fried garlic or you can fry about 9  finely chopped cloves of garlic)
• sliced lemon to sprinkle on top (optional)