Pancit

Pancit is likely not a dish anyone thought they'd find on this blog. But then again, I did just write about my noodle obsession. Time to throw another one in the pile.

My experience with the dish comes from a local food truck, a Filipino themed one named Over Rice. Of course, the pancit here is an accessory; their chicken is absolutely stellar and with pancit and white rice on the side, it is a 5 star meal. It's not often I order "double meat" in a dish - usually the standard is plenty - but when I order from here, I'm ordering for lunch the next day, too. It's too good to turn down. I've no doubt the pork dishes work everyone's world, too, but as a non-pork eater, I can't speak to it. 

The cold noodle dish has been on my mind since I first tried it, and it was on the "to make" list for a while. Finally, I was eyeing something new to make and decided to go this route. It's very simple, and you can customize it to your liking. At the heart, it is rice noodles, onion, garlic, shredded cabbage, matchstick carrots, soy sauce, and chicken or vegetable stock.

I cooked the pasta separately, and then sautéed the onions and garlic for about 5 minutes. You can add chicken or pork as desired in this step as well, cooking alongside the onions. Next, I added the soy sauce and vinegar, then stirred in the cabbage and carrots.

After another 3-5 minutes, the cabbage had softened and I stirred in the pasta and green onions. I added a little bit of pepper but skipped out on salt; this was because I felt the soy sauce had already added enough salt. If you want a saltier dish, add away.

You can customize this with oyster sauce, sriracha, whatever you'd like forsome more kick. But in many ways, this reminds me of lo mein (which is not surprising since this dish originated in China).

Ultimately, this made for a tasty side dish, a flavorful pasta dish that I enjoyed fresh and warm but also cold. Did I nail the food truck recipe? Hell to the no. This was V1. Theirs has a bit more tang than mine. But, I did learn to make an enjoyable dish. Now I just need to get that chicken recipe down...

Pancit Recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups Thai Vermicelli rice noodles (I used 2/3 of an 8 ounce package)

1-2 tablespoons cooking oil (I used avocado)

1 yellow onion, diced

3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 cup vegetable broth or chicken stock

2 cups cabbage, thinly shredded

1/2 cup carrots, sliced thin

3 green onions, diced

1-2 teaspoons pepper

1-2 teaspoons salt (optional)

Instructions:

Prepare noodles according to package directions, soaking or boiling. Mince vegetables and place onions and garlic in a large wok or cooking pan over medium high heat. Sauté for 3-5 minutes, then add stock or broth, soy sauce, cabbage, and carrots. Continue cooking for about 5 more minutes, until cabbage has softened. Add green onions and toss in cooked pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste.

adapted from filipino pancit recipe