Under the weather? Feel better...with noodles!

I remember being young, barely able to see the top of the table at family parties. There were big coolers of sodas and juices, groups of aunties chatting about their kids, uncles huddled outside in the cold keeping watch over a roasting pig as it turned on a spit. There wasn’t much else I was aware of—playing with my cousins and godsisters was my main focus back then. But the one thing we all remember is the food.

There was always a huge platter of pancit, stir-fried noodles tossed with vegetables, meat, and a patis-soy sauce-pepper mixture that changed with every new hand that adjusted the seasoning. Sometimes, when I’m homesick or feeling ill, I make up a big batch of pancit canton. It always makes me feel better.


Spicy Pancit Canton
I tend to blanch my noodles in boiling ginger water to not only remove any excess salt and oil, but also to impart a faint scent of ginger directly into the noodles before seasoning with the rest of the dish. Mise en place is vital in the preparation of this dish, as it will help you preserve the color and texture of the vegetables. Eight servings.

1 lb. Chinese noodles (the yellow kind, like in lo mein)
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, medium dice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 cup Napa cabbage, shredded
½ cup carrots, julienned
2 cups bok choy, shredded
1 cup cooked protein (thinly sliced pork, chicken, tofu strips, shredded beef)
1 cup raw shrimp
1 ½ tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. soy sauce (or half soy sauce and half toyomansi)
1 tsp. patis (or to taste)
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce (or to taste)
2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 lemon cut in wedges
minced scallions for garnish

1. Blanch noodles in ginger water for 1 minute. Remove from water and drain.
2. In a large pan, heat vegetable oil on medium. Sweat onions until they start to soften slightly. Add garlic and minced ginger. Continue cooking for 1 minute.
3. Turn heat up to medium high and add cabbage and carrots. Cook for 2 minutes. Add bok choy and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add cooked protein, sautéing until warmed through. Add raw shrimp, cook for 1 minute (or until shrimp starts to turn opaque).
5. Push the vegetable and protein mixture to the sides of the pan, then pour in sesame oil. Make sure the bottom of the pan is evenly coated with oil, then add drained noodles. Toss in oil, then incorporate the vegetable and protein mixture into the noodles.
6. Add sauces and black pepper, toss to coat.
7. Serve with lemon wedges. Garnish with scallions.

Spicy Noodle Soup
Sometimes, the best things are made from leftovers. I didn’t want to eat the same thing the next day, so I made soup. It was almost better than the original dish! Four to six servings (depending on how much pancit you have leftover).

4 cups low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
1 tsp. minced ginger
leftover pancit
1 cup raw shrimp
minced scallions for garnish

1. Bring chicken broth and ginger to a boil.
2. Add raw shrimp. Boil for 1 minute.
3. Add pancit. Turn off heat and cover for 2 minutes.
4. Serve garnished with scallions.



I garnished both of these dishes with Salt & Pepper Shrimp. To make the shrimp, I dredged raw, tail-on shrimp in cornstarch, then deep-fried them until pink and crispy in 325F vegetable oil. Toss with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, et voila!