Recipe(tried): Pansit

1. The type of pansit you make is dependent upon the type of noodles you use. "Pansit Kanton" uses egg noodles, and as my mother says, the more colour it has, the better. "Pansit Bihon" uses a rice noodle, "Pansit Mami" uses a thick noodle, which I want to say is flour-based, but don't quote me on that. "Pansit Luglug" uses a thick-ish noodle, although I think for this particular type of pansit, I think it's the special shrimp sauce that defines it more than the noodle. "Pansit Molo" is sort of like the Chinese Wonton
soup. I will write the recipe with the first two noodles in mind.You may substitute whichever noodle you wish. These noodles should be readily available at any Oriental market.

2. You really can put anything you want with this dish, it is very versatile. I generally like to combine a bit of meat and veggie with this dish, and one can generally use chicken or pork. I'll write the recipe using chicken.

Pansit {Kanton/Bihon}

1 lb chicken flaked
1/4 lb Shrimp cut into small pieces
1/4 lb Pork or Chinese Sausages sliced thin
2 pieces of garlic or more
1 medium onion
2 or 3 carrots
1 red capsicum (Red Pepper)
1 green capsicum (Green Pepper)
1/4 of a cabbage, shredded
1 pkg {kanton/bihon} noodles, usually 14-16 oz
1/3 Cup Oyster Sauce
1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Pepper
Salt to taste
green onions, chopped, for garnish
1 or 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced, for garnish
1 or 2 pieces of chorizo de bilbao (Chinese sausage good here, too)
3-4 pieces of fish balls

Please note that the last four items are optional.

1 - Put the chicken in a pot, cover with water, season to taste with salt, if you wish, and boil until chicken is done. Reserve some of the water (I would say about 2/3c - 3/4 c) for later use.

2 - Let the chicken cool to the touch, then "flake" the chicken. This means, taking the chicken and tearing off pieces of meat. Set aside.

(2a - if you are using bihon, boil some water, after the water comes to the boil, add the noodles, let sit in boiling water for 2-4 minutes, then remove, drain, rinse in cold water, set aside.)

3 - Mince the garlic, set aside. Chop the onions, also set aside.

4 - Cut the carrots in "matchsticks". It's up to you the size. I generally cut them in 1" length, but because I'm not perfect in chopping, the widths are always varying.

5 - Cut both capisicums into cubes.

6 - Shred the cabbage.

7 - If you are using chorizo de bilbao or chinese sausages, cut them into small slices. Also if you are using fish balls, slice them as well. These ingredients are obtainable at any Oriental market.

Putting it all together:

8 - Saute garlic, then when it's sauteed to your taste, add the onions.

9 - Add the carrots, stir fry for around 2 minutes.

10 - Add the capsicum, stir fry for around 1 minute.

11 - Add the chicken, Pork and Shrimp. Flavour with salt and pepper, to your taste. Stir fry for around a minute or so.

12 - Add the cabbage. Stir fry for around a minute or so.

13 - If you are using pansit kanton, add it now, straight from the package. Follow immediately with the broth set aside earlier and flavour with soya sauce. If you are using pansit bihon, add it, the broth, and the soya sauce. Stir.

14 - If you are using the sausages and/or fish balls, add them now.

15 - Stir until everything is heated. That should be for about a minute or so.

16 - Remove to a serving plate, garnish with chopped green onion and sliced hard-boiled egg, if desired. (You might want the chopped green onion on the top, anyway, it adds flavour.) Serve as soon as possible.

I hope this helps. Once you get the basic recipe down, one can experiment with the ingredients and amounts. I even tried putting fresh coriander in here, with good results (not what one would usually do, but I had extra coriander that I had to use!).