Pancit Sotanghon

This is a recipe I culled partly from my memory and partly from what's out there on Filipino recipe sites; liked a little here, a little there, etc. Put it all together and you have my take on one of the staple noodle dishes of my culture.

Several things to note:  Honestly, this recipe is NOT difficult.  It is, however, very time-consuming.  It takes time to boil the chicken, cool, shred, cut up all the veggies ahead of time, soak the noodles, etc.  So as long as you stick close to the steps, you should be OK.  As with any Asian stir-fry dish, the key is to have everything cut up ahead of time so you don't have to think about it as you're stirring away...all you have to do is dump in the ingredients as you go.  Also, 99% of these ingredients can likely be found in your local grocery store (yes, even the fish sauce nowadays); I have not always seen bean thread noodles there, and especially not the Chinese sausage, so for these items you will probably need to go to a specialty Asian market.  Rice sticks or thin rice noodles can be substituted, but growing up my mom always used bean thread noodles, also known as lungkow, so that's what I use because I like to carry on many of her traditions.  :)

Bean thread noodles, aka "lungkow"

Veggies can be interchanged, depending on your taste.  Other vegetable ideas include but are not limited to: sliced white button mushrooms, julienned red & green peppers, zucchini (not a personal favorite), pea pods, bean sprouts, etc.  Also, I take a shortcut by buying pre-packaged shredded carrots instead of doing them myself.  It's neater, faster, and heck, why not?

One last thing worth mentioning: Calamansi (cah-lah-mahn-SEE) is a small citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia, and definitely prevalent in Filipino cooking.  Usually they are halved and then squeezed over things like fish & pork so that the citrus juice accentuates whatever dish it's being added to.  If you don't live in an area that normally has access to calamansi (such as where I live in Colorado), small limes or even lime juice can be substituted and used instead.

Good luck...and if you make this dish, please write back and let me know how it turned out for you!  :)

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Ingredients:

Boiled Chicken -

1 half split chicken breast, boneless & skinless

2 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless

2 Tbsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp granulated chicken bouillon (or chicken broth and add kosher salt to taste)

6-8 C water

Noodle Mix - 

6 oz (½ a package, or 4-5 individual links) sliced Chinese sausage

6 oz chopped onions

3 cloves garlic, finely diced

½ head cabbage, roughly shredded (meaning not as finely shredded as for cole slaw or sauerkraut)

1-2 (about 5-6 oz) shredded carrots

1-2 C sliced green beans

2-3 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil

8-10 oz bean thread noodles (1 package, or several smaller packages, depending on the brand)

Sauce -

1 C chicken broth

1/3 C dark soy sauce (not low sodium)

2 Tbsp fish sauce

Garnish - 

2-3 stalks of green onions, thinly sliced

5-6 calamansi halves OR 3-4 small limes, sliced into segments

Directions:

Bring water with garlic powder and bouillon to a rolling boil.  Add chicken.  When water comes back to a boil, bring down heat to high simmer.  Skim off any chicken "foam" as necessary.  Cook 15 minutes or until all pieces are cooked thoroughly. Set aside and cool.  (This step can be done well ahead of time.  I sometimes boil large batches of chicken, freeze them in sets, and thaw them out as needed.) When chicken has cooled, roughly shread (pull apart) meat.  Not as finely as for things like BBQ sandwiches or tacos, but don't leave overly-large chunks.

Mix broth, soy sauce and fish sauce in a bowl or large measuring cup; set aside.

Chop up all the vegetables and sausage, striving for even, uniform pieces as much as possible.

Before you start cooking, soak bean thread noodles in warm water and set aside.  Heat up a wok or other large, high-sided pan to as high of heat as possible; add vegetable oil. Start by sautéeing onions, then add Chinese sausage and garlic. When onions have started to take on translucency, add cabbage and carrots.  While cabbage & carrots have started to cook, set soaked noodles in a colander to drain.  Stir veggies & sausage in the pan vigorously until cabbage has also started to become translucent and wilt; add the green beans.  Keep stirring constantly so that nothing sticks to the side or bottom of the pan.

Place drained noodles into pan, then pour broth over noodles, covering as evenly as possible.  Using 2 utensils (spaghetti ladle and/or flat spatula), toss noodle mixture well, like a salad, in order to evenly distribute veggies and sauce within the noodles.

Garnish with finely sliced green onions and serve with calamansi or lime wedges.

How the pancit looks when placed into a serving tray...

...and how it looks, ready for a potluck presentation. :)

Serves about 10 people

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GBAdams

11/16/2011

7-Up Can Chicken

I never tried doing a 7-Up can chicken before.  (Conventionally, this is called "Beer Can Chicken" because a beer can is used, but we hardly ever have beer in the house, so I experimented using the soft drink instead.)  I'd always heard that a chicken roasted this way makes it succulent and super-moist, and I was pleasantly surprised to find all the rumors were true.  ;)  I've made it many times, and while the skin is deliciously crispy, the meat practically overflows with juiciness.  Even the breast meat.  I hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we do!  :)

Couple of things to note: It's a good idea to use gloves (vinyl, latex, nitrile, etc.) when rubbing the spices into the chicken, on both the interior & exterior. If you have nails like I do, it will save discoloration of your fingernails from the paprika.  Also, I alternate the sides for this, from roasted-alongside veggies, to Cripsy Smashed Potatoes & Carrots.  They're both excellent & simple-to-make sides with this chicken.  Yum!

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Just a sampling of some of the ingredients needed...

Ingredients:

Dry rub--

½ C brown sugar

2 Tbsp Kosher salt

2 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp tarragon

1 tsp coarse ground black pepper

Can marinade-- 

½ can 7-Up

¼ C chicken stock

¼ C soy sauce

¼ rice wine vinegar

Directions:
Make chicken rub -- Using an an airtight container, mix all the sugar & spices by pouring into container, sealing, and then shaking. Makes enough rub for 2 whole chickens.  If only roasting one chicken, divide in half and store unused spices in an airtight container.

Preheat oven to 375°F and ensure that wire racks are placed as low as possible.  Empty ½ of the 7-Up so there is room for the other liquids in the can. Pour chicken stock, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar directly into the can so they're all mixed together.  Generously sprinkle about ⅓ of the spices inside the chicken cavity, rubbing it in as much as possible. Place the now-full 7-Up can in the middle of a shallow pan. Carefully place chicken onto the can by the cavity. Using the remainder of the rub mixture, cover the entire exterior of the chicken (including under the wings!) and massage the spices into the skin, coating evenly.

If desired, baby potatoes and other vegetables can be spread around the base of the pan around the chicken for simultaneous roasting.  Place pan (uncovered) in pre-heated oven on the lowest rack possible.  Roast for 1h 30m.

Let rest for at least 10 minutes after removing from the oven and before serving.  Serve with roasted vegetables, or can also be served with Cripsy Smashed Potatoes & Carrots.  ;)

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GBAdams
09/20/2011

Basic (Chinese Sausage) Fried Rice

Here's a basic recipe for my favorite kind of homemade fried rice.  It's what I grew up on, and is a formula that I've seen countless times in restaurants. My parents used to make a sort of crepe/omelet with the eggs, remove them, dice them, and then return them to the pan, but that's always been so labor-intensive. And I could never get a flat, thin omelet to cut up.  However, in observing how Chinese restaurants cook their food, I started doing it this way.  MUCH more efficient.  ;)

The key for this dish is to ensure everything is ready ahead of time, so all you have to do is add & stir and keep the food moving.  Also, use as high/hot heat as you can stand.  (These kinds of foods especially make me yearn for a professional-type high BTU burner. Like 10,000 BTUs. Hee!)  As with any kind of stir fry, the key to the crispness & flavor is to get it cooked as fast as possible to sear it all in. Basically, you add ingredients, stir, add, stir, etc., until your dish is done. 

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I forgot to capture diced onions & garlic, but they are a part of this.

 Ingredients:
6-8 C cooked, plain sticky rice. (Day-old leftovers work best)
2 C Chinese sausage, diced
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3 C peas (frozen are OK)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, diced
1/4 soy sauce (can use reduced-sodium)
3 Tbsp sesame or canola oil

This is Chinese sausage, diced.

Directions:
In a wok or high-sided skillet, heat pan on high and add oil. Add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, then add garlic. 

When onion has just started to become translucent, add Chinese sausage and continue to stir quickly. Then add the eggs, making sure to vigorously stir so that scrambled eggs don't clump too much and are broken up into small pieces. Once eggs are no longer runny, add peas.

Stir for another 3-4 minutes, then add rice. Drizzle soy sauce over rice, distributing as evenly as possible.  Fold rice over and over to incorporate the rest of the ingredients and to ensure even coverage of soy sauce. If there are any big clumps of rice left, this is the time to break them up so they can get covered, too. Continue to stir for another 5-7 minutes, or until fried rice is well incorporated.

Fried rice can be served as a side or as a main course.

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GBAdams
10/29/2011