Pancit Guisado

This was supposed to be my submission to the Festival Food Fair hosted by Morsels and Musings but since the day for the blog event coincided with the refurbishing and redesigning of my site, this entry was not included in the round-up. Most probably the links showed a placecard during my change of webhost. Still, I’d like to share the recipe here. Since Christmas is Jesus’ natal day, I decided to submit Pancit Guisado, a stir-fried dish traditionally part of most Filipino’s birthday celebration.

Due to the length of the noodles used, it symbolizes good health and long life. In the Philippines, it is next in popularity to rice, and although it claims origin from China, variations of noodle dishes are also very present in Japanese, Korean and other asian cuisine. It is the east equivalent to the pasta of the west. Pancit Guisado’s regular presence at the dinner table and on special gatherings is owed to its versatility and ease in preparing. The “sahog” (ingredients to flavor the dish) possibilities are almost limitless-shrimp, pork, chicken, sausages, carrots, celery and so it goes! Like pasta, there are also many types of noodles available-made of rice or of wheat as well.

Makes 8 Servings

1 pkg (16 oz) rice noodles (bihon)
1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 lb boneless chicken breast, sliced thin
1 cup sausage hamonado, sliced thin
1 cup carrots, julienned
1 cup Chinese parsley (flat-leaf parsley), chopped
2 cups cabbage, chopped
1 onion, sliced
4-5 cups of broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
salt and pepper
vegetable oil

Heat oil in wide skillet or wok. Saute chicken until cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
Saute shrimp until pink. Remove from heat and set aside.
Saute sausage hamonado until browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a stock pot, combine broth and soy sauce. Bring to a boil.
Submerge dry noodles. Simmer until softened and loosened, around 3-4 minutes.
Drain noodles and set aside broth.
In the wok, heat additional oil as necessary.
Saute onions until tender.
Add carrots and cabbage, saute until slightly tender.
Add chicken, sausages, shrimp and parsley.
Continue to cook until vegetables are of desired texture, stirring constantly.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add in noodles. Continue to stir until noodles are cooked to desired texture. Add broth as needed.

TIPS:
1) Chinese sausages can be substituted for sausage hamonado.
2) Shitake mushrooms, snow peas and napa cabbage are other vegetable choices.
3) Try the recipe with other types of noodles such as canton or miki.