My dear readers, it is my distinct honor to present to you my rendition of an old family recipe. Before I get into it, a little background…
I was raised by my godmother.
Dory is a wonderful, warm-hearted soul whose delight is osmotic, whose sharp voice cuts clear through any inclination to misbehave, whose clever hands always smell of freshly chopped ginger, whose accent and charming malapropisms are a never-ending source of humor and good-natured ribbing. When I was little, she taught me folk songs—which I can still sing—in her native language. She’d dutifully stock a notepad and pen in her purse so that I could draw whenever I was bored (usually during Sunday mass…) She’d chaperone me to the roller-skating rink, crochet afghans while I did Tae Kwon Do, wrench my wild hair into tight braids for school picture day, and neatly arrange birthday cards and Polaroids of all my childhood mile markers in big leather photo albums. “For my remembrance,” she’d say.
Dory would also pack my lunch with “weird” foods that earned me a lot of guff in the cafeteria from fellow schoolchildren who wouldn’t grow to appreciate the flavor magic of Asian cuisine until much later in life. This recipe is one of those. It’s called pancit (pronounced: pahn-sit), which is a traditional Filipino noodle stir fry. If I could describe the flavor of my memory, this would be high up in the running. Last week, I finally got dear Dory to share her recipe with me, so I made it on Friday night. I’m pleased to report that it was almost as good as hers. Almost.
Photo by me. Recipe credit goes to the best godmother a gal could ask for.
Pancit with pork, chicken, and shrimp
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:- 1-2 tablespoons high heat cooking oil, such as canola or sesame
- 1 package rice stick noodles Your local Asian market will have the best ones. Look for labels that say “bihon”, “rice vermicelli”, or “banh pho.”
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch of ginger, peeled and minced
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 2-3 carrots, julienned
- ¼ lb green beans, julienned
- ¼ cabbage, chopped
- 1 cup shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 1 cup pork, cut into long thin strips
- 1 cup chicken, ½ inch cubes
- Soy sauce If you’re gluten-free, sub GF tamari or coconut aminos and a dash of fish sauce.
- Chicken broth or bouillon
- Salt, black pepper, and garlic powder or garlic salt to taste
- Green onions, chopped, for garnish
- 2-3 limes
Note: Unless you have a mandolin slicer or julienne attachment for your food processor, the prep is the most time consuming part of the whole endeavor. I recommend you chop everything in advance. The cooking itself will only take about 20 minutes.
The Nitty Gritty- Start by slicing / cubing / shelling all of your meats, then place them in separate bowls. Squeeze the juice of one lime over your shrimp. Season both the chicken and pork liberally with salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Set all three aside while you do the rest of your prep.
- Prepare all your vegetables and set them aside separately. Julienne the carrots and green beans, chop the onion and cabbage, mince your garlic and ginger.
- Add oil to a wok or other stir fry pan and heat over medium to medium-high. Let the oil get hot first before you start cooking.
- Sauté the garlic and ginger for about 1 minute, then add the onion. Stir frequently for another minute or two.
- Add the pork and chicken. Continue stirring frequently for about 3-5 minutes to ensure the meat browns relatively evenly.
- Add the carrots, green beans, and cabbage and toss it all together.
- Add the shrimp and lime juice and continue stirring for another 2-3 minutes, until the shrimp starts to turn pink but before it has the chance to cook all the way through.
- Transfer the whole shebang from the wok to a large bowl.
- Now come the noodles. Add a touch more oil to the wok, then add 2-3 ish cups of chicken broth. Flavor your broth with soy sauce or substitutes at this stage and bring to a low boil. Pancit is a dry dish, so use less liquid than you think you need.
- Add the noodles. No need to break them up, but watch them carefully because they’ll cook fast. Stir frequently so they cook evenly.
- When the noodles are done, drain off any excess liquid, just as if you were making spaghetti.
- Return the noodles to the pan, then add your meat and veggie mixture back in. Toss evenly over low heat for another minute or two, then serve.
Garnish with a little fresh green onion, and serve with sliced limes and soy sauce as your condiments. Trust me, the lime juice is where it’s at.
Dory’s not one for drinking soda, but pancit is the one meal for which she’ll pour herself a half-glass of co*ke. She’s always sworn by the flavor combination. While I am, likewise, not a soda drinker, I’ll be darned if I didn’t catch myself wishing I had a co*ke with my dinner on Friday night. Maybe that’s the nostalgia talking.
I’ll leave you with a picture from early ‘86 or so, which features my mom, Dory, and Dory’s sister, Grace. Dory’s the one holding the pudgy baby. That’d be me. <3
