Today’s post is brought to you by: went out of town and saw mom and she sent us home with a bunch of leftovers. One of the things she sent with us is our favorite classic Filipino noodle dish: Pancit Canton. Pancit is often cooked on special occasions and birthdays because Filipinos, like the Chinese, believe that this will bring you a longer life…but we like to eat this whenever we can!
There is a lot of Spanish and Chinese influence in Filipino food, and this dish closely resembles a lighter version of lo mein. There are countless variations of pancit (pronounced pahn-sit), but the two most popular are pancit bihon which is made with a type of of rice vermicelli and pancit canton which is made with a type of egg or flour noodle. These noodles can be found in the ethnic aisle of your grocery store or any Asian market. They’re quick to make (the name “pancit” literally translates to “something conveniently cooked”) and can be tossed in at the end of a stir fry as they just need to absorb a little liquid to cook.
Meats like pork, shrimp, and chicken and a variety of vegetables such as carrots, green beans, and cabbage are sauteed with onions and garlic and cooked with soy sauce and chicken broth before the noodles are added. It serves as a wonderful main or side dish and is great to make ahead of time as it tastes just as good throughout the week!
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup french style cut green beans (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup shredded green cabbage
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (more to taste)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 (1 lb) package pancit canton noodles
- In a large pot or wok, heat up olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute 5-6 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic, carrots, cabbage, green beans, and soy sauce, and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken and saute with vegetables and soy sauce for 2-3 minutes before slowly adding the chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and add pancit noodles to the pot, gently stirring to prevent breaking the noodles. Continue to stir until noodles have absorbed all liquid, about 8-10 minutes. Taste and add additional soy sauce or black pepper, if desired.
I love noodle dishes! I don’t know that I’ve tried pancit before… thank you! I’ll look for it next time I go to the market!
If you can’t find it, let me know and I can send you some!! 🙂
Deal! 🙂
This looks wonderful! I have been craving noodles for soo long, and wherever i go i find recipes with noodles in. Whyyy? I need it like, right now XD
Thank you!! I crave noodles and pasta all the time so I understand!! I can’t resist 😀
Never had these noodles, delish looking dish. ?
Thank you, John!!
Yumm a must try! thanks for sharing this and pictures are amazing!! Writing it down!
Thank you, Lynz!! 🙂 I hope you like it!
I know I will, very yummy
I make pancit canton and mix it with bihon from time to time. I know what you’re saying, pancit is soooo tasty! I don’t cook it too much being it’s high in carbs.The one that I enjoy making is Singapore Street Noodles and I use bihon.
Yumm!! I’ve had pancit canton mixed with bihon before and it’s really good! I’ve never tried to make it before, so maybe I’ll attempt that sometime. 🙂