Lasang Pinoy 4: PANCIT GUISADO
Saturday, 26 November 2005 | By Mike | Category: Lasang Pinoy, Noodles, Pinoy FoodSoul food is an “ethnic cuisine†as Wikipedia puts it, and every nationality has what it calls “soul food†. . . soothing, feel-good comfort food that brings back warm memories of meals shared with family and friends, whether on special occasions or on any particular day . . .
For this month’s blogging event, I would like to share my favourite “feel-good†food for all times, happy or sad . . .
In the PCIJ article Republic of Pancit, it is said that pancit was borrowed from the Chinese, innovated and adopted into the Pinoy [Filipino] cuisine, connecting us to our Asian roots. It is also a veritable pinoy comfort food — easy to cook than rice, more versatile and food-combination friendly. It is faster than fast food. In fact, “pancit†is derived from the Hokkien “pian i sitâ€, which means “something conveniently cooked fast.â€
Topping my list of fave feel-good food is pancit. My eternal love affair with pancit guisado stems out of my nanay’s passion for this dish. When we were young kids, pancit would also be part of our snack boxes to school. She’d prepare different varieties — bihon, canton, miki, sotanghon, mixed canton-bihon as well as lomi, probably so that we won’t get fed up with the oodles of noodles that would be on the table.
Back in the late 90’s, when I would be asked to go on assignments to London during the winter months, pancit [the Chinese-versions though] served in Chinatown restaurants would give me the warmth and comfort from feeling alone in a strange and cold place.
To this day, pancit would always be a regular fare for me — enjoyed solitary in the peaceful surroundings of my flat, or shared with friends . . .
Here’s one of them . . .
BIHON GUISADO
Ingredients
1 pack [8 ounce] bihon [thin rice noodles]
1/4 kilo skinless, boneless chicken legs, shredded
1/4 pork tenderloin, cut into small pieces
1/4 kilo pork liver, cut into small pieces
1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, julienne
1 celery stick, thinly sliced diagonally
2 onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup soy sauce
Patis or salt to taste
ground black pepper
Method
Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, and cover with warm water. When soft, cut into 6 inch lengths, drain, and set aside.
In a small pot, boil chicken in salted water until tender, remove and reserve stock. Shred chicken meat when cooled.
Using a large skillet or frying pan, sauté in a small amount of oil the onions and garlic. Add chicken, pork and liver, followed by cabbage, carrots, celery and some chicken stock. Season with soy sauce and black pepper. Turn heat to medium and simmer for a few minutes until carrots are cooked.
Place pre-soaked noodles over the mixture and blend together until noodles absorb the broth. You may have to add a little more of the chicken stock if necessary. Cover and allow to steam for about two minutes. Place on a serving platter and garnish with calamansi or lemon wedges.
I usually have pandesal [Filipino bun] or steamed rice with my pancit . . . Pinoy na Pinoy!
Here in Brunei, bihon is also known as beehoon, bihun, or mee hoon. It is prepared in a variety of ways with seafood, beef, bean sprouts or scrambled eggs and green vegetables like pakchoy or kailan.
And, the other pancit varieties I equally love and enjoy . . .
CANTON GUISADO
Cooked similarly [including ingredients] as the bihon. I also use a bit of oyster sauce and broken up fried egg, to give it a different colour and texture.
LOMI
Ingredients
1/4 kilo lomi noodles
1/2 cup pork, sliced into strips
1/2 cup pork liver, cut into strips
1/4 cup ham, chopped
1 large onion, chopped or finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup cabbage, shredded
7 cups chicken broth
2 eggs, beaten
Cooking oil
Cornstarch dissolved in water
Patis [fish sauce]
Salt to taste
Method
Saute garlic and onion. Add pork, liver, and ham. Season with patis and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add 1/2 cup water, cover and simmer until water has almost evaporated. Add chicken broth. Cover and let boil for 5 to 10 minutes.
Drop in noodles and shredded cabbage. Simmer for at least 3 minutes and thicken with dissolved cornstarch. Remove from heat and stir in beaten eggs. Serve hot.
By Mike Mina
Uy ma-pancit na LP. Bakit mo pinuputol ang noodles? Hehehe! I haven’t outgrown the childish glee of twirling and eating long noodles. Mas mahaba, mas masarap! :)
indeed!
looks good. pahinig :)
lol! we both had pancit in the mind :-) To the consternation of my husband and kids, I eat my pancit in a sandwich and with rice too :-D
oh, I’m going to have to try your lomi recipe!
i like long noodles too, but my dad cuts his noodles up, even spaghetti! like karen, i enjoy the twirling. thanks once again for joining us mike!
Hi Mike. What about pancit-eating-m-h’s?? … sinong nanay mo?? *hehehehe*
Your pancit photos looks sooo appetizing…yum! For me (and it’s the same with pasta) the thicker the noodles, the better I like them (takaw ba?)…so you can imagine that lomi is my favorite…And now I have the recipe! Thanks for sharing it :)
karen, finally, kauna-unahan ka sa commenting ngayon. hahaha! yes, learned that from nanay as well yun pagputol ng pancit lalo na sa bihon . . .
dexie, ading thanks very much . . . pa-UPS ko ba or fedex . . . hehehe
jmom, i remember being in a chinese resto outside manila last year – our group ordered an additional noodle dish on top of everything else . . . the waitress commented: “may kanin na kayo, may pancit pa?!” abah! pakialamera pa! i snapped back at her: “paki bilisan ang pancit, miss!” hahaha!
stef, thank you too . . . taga saan daddy mo? hehehe . . .
bev, what a surprise! how in the world did you find my blog? at sinong nanay mo din?! hahaha! i hope you come and visit often . . . thanks . . .
joey, di mo pansin, the transition of the noodles dishes — from the thinnest to the thickest . . . ? hehehe . . . ako basta pancit, i love ‘em all! [except for the one in my LP3 entry!]
i love bihon. yan ang favorite na lutuing pancit sa bahay. d2 kac i have difficulties finding the right bihon :( nga pla…. we just had pancit canton and guess what? syempre sabay sa kanin hahahaha ubos lahat!
Yay, carbohydrate overload talaga! I love pancit, too, sabi ng hubby kahit daw panis na pancit kakainin ko. Kaya pala disappointed ka dun sa pancit sa pinuntahan nyo.
In Pangasinan we eat pancit with puto, or latik, or mamon, or pandesal, o kahit anong tinapay. At kanin din. Patawa.
ay mang mayk, filipino family gatherings esp. birthday is not complete without pansit….. something to do yata with a supertitious belief na pampahaba daw ng buhay ang handa na pansit…..well true or not… i love pansit too.
I’ve cooked a lot of Pinoy food but the pancit guisado is one of those dishes I haven’t mastered kahit na pinanood ko pa ang nanay ko ng ilang beses ewan ko ba kung bakit kapag ako na either malabsak o matigas ang bihon. Haaay, siguro kailangan ko pa ng practice. ;)
Favs ko ang pancit canton ng Max’s. And like Jmom I love my bihon guisado as a filling in sandwiches. Hehehe. Carbs overload!
puede bang matikman ang pancit pag dalaw ko sa yo!!!! yey, malapit na!!!!
love, burene
Fave din dito ang pansin, especially lomi with quail eggs.
Hindi talaga nawawala sa handa ng birthday nating mga pinoy ang pansit at spaghetti, sabi nga ni Larry pampahaba ng buhay.
upps, mali pali, pansit ang ibig kong sabihin, mukang kulang ako sa pansin ha.
hello, mang mike!
yes kai, my LP4 entry is indeed overloaded with carbs . . . in fact, am eating pancit [canton and bihon mixed] as i type . . . hehehe
mang larry, pampahaba nga daw ng buhay sabi da . . . pero ewan ko kung bakit pinuputol ng nanay ko ang pancit bago lutuin . . .
uy, si lani kulang daw sa pansin . . . ? heheheheee
hey buren, looking forward to your pagdalaw here . . . pero di moko mapagluluto . . . kukulangain tayo ng oras sa mga gimik . . . don’t forget — AR and BB . . . hehehe
Sir, nakibasa lang. ganda!!! daan me next time.
[...] Recently, I designed a Christmas card for a friend and printed on the back cover was my site with my namesake, for design credits. Bev’s friend who recieved one apparently was raving about it and told her it was designed by one mikemina.com. Expecting some chic design site, she almost fell off her chair and couldn’t stop laughing when the page opened! What she saw instead, was my Pancit Guisado entry for LP4 hence her comment has undergone heavy editing, so as not to offend others with that private joke of ours . . . tee hee . . . [...]
bosing…. balik na naman ako sa pansitan mee goreng mee mamak
lahat ng mee narito na. pero mas masarap ang pancit dyan kahit walang sambal balachang. musta nalang
ano ho ba ang english ng LOMI noodles? baka kasi di ko makita dito sa abroad?
sweet, where are you from? ‘lomi’ noodles should be readily available in Asian specialty markets all over the world. if i am not mistaken, they are called lo mein.
you may also try using any of the following as substitues:
mi xau (shanghai noodles) or miki as it is more popularly called in the philippines.
ganmien (chinese wheat noodles) – they come as wide and as thick as fettuccine.
[...] “tuyo” (salted fish) and fresh sliced tomatoes or “ginisang sardinas” and “pancit bihon guisado” if there was no garlic fried [...]
[...] love for pancit guisado comes from my mother’s expertise on this dish. Pancit, a staple during birthdays and other [...]