Pancit

Pancit, which I pronounce as pawn-sit, is a Filipino noodle dish. Until I was an adult, I thought pancit was made only with translucent mung bean noodles. Then I learned that many Filipinos make pancit with rice noodles or wheat noodles. It was a rude awakening for me. Still, to this day, I make pancit with clear mung bean noodles, the way the mama showed me. Always will.

Preparing pancit isn't difficult, just labor intensive, especially if you want to add a variety of vegetables to it.  While growing up, the mama cooked pancit for parties or other special occasions. After I got married, the mama would make a huge pot full of pancit so that I could take leftovers home to stick in my freezer.  Now that the husband and I are living with the mama, I like to make pancit for her now and then.

Like all my recipes, many of the ingredients vary each time I prepare pancit. The ingredient that stays the same is mung bean noodles. You can find it at any Asian market or at the Asian section in your supermarket. If none is available, you could order it from amazon.com. This is a decent brand: Pure Mung Bean Vermicelli - 8.8 oz.

The following recipe serves four to six or more people, depending on what else you plan to put on the table.

Ingredients
About 6 to 8 ounces of mung bean noodles
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, very thinly sliced (almost transparent)
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, sliced
Handful of cilantro, chopped
2 medium (or 3 small) juicy tomatoes, chopped
1 large portobello mushroom, or 5 to 6 medium sized brown or white mushrooms, chopped
1 bundle of chard or spinach, or 4 to 6 heads of bok choy (depending on size), or 1/2 a head of cabbage, chopped
1/2 to 1 pound of shrimp, cleaned and deveined
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Soak the noodles in hot water. When they've softened, cut them into smaller segments with a scissor. (I suppose this step could be done vice versa. Just never thought about it until now.)
2. Saute onions and carrot in large wok-like pan. When they are soft, stir in celery and garlic and saute for a minute.
3. Add tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Saute for another minute. (The mix should start to liquefy.)
4. Add vegetables. Cover pot and steam for a few minutes.
5. Stir in mushrooms.
6. Fold in mung bean noodles. Cover pot and steam for a couple of minutes. Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water, if necessary. You don't want the noodles to stick to the pan.
7. Stir in shrimp and cook until the shrimp is done. 
8. Add salt and pepper, to taste. You can also add soy sauce, if you want.