Crispy Pancit in a very hot and humid day!

I do not like rainy season that much but I do not like summer either, so where do I stand? Today is a particularly hot day and I am not in the mood for coming up with something for dinner. After all there is still leftover Kare-kare. But the duty calls because our stomach cannot take Kare-kare anymore after overly stuffing ourselves yesterday.

I am thinking of something different to eat. Something that can wash out the taste of peanut in our palate. I decided to make PANCIT. My husband loves any kind of dish that has noodles in it. Palabok, Pancit canton, Bihon guisado, Lomi, Spaghetti, etc. The usual is pancit canton. So I thought of giving it a twist. I remember the time when we had crispy noodles in a Chinese restaurant so I thought, why not? I wanted to cook crispy noodles for a long time now but held back because of the amount of fat that comes with it. But then it's not everyday that I get to cook it.

I went to the market just a walk away from our house and purchase some of the ingredients I needed. By the time I got back it was already raining cats and dogs. So much for the hot and humid day! Anyway...

Ingredients:

400-500 g dried egg noodles

250 g porkloin, sliced thinly

1 small head of cabbage, sliced

1 small carrot, julienned
100 g black ear fungus, soaked
Small pack of kikiam or squid balls, whatever you want, sliced
1 onion, sliced or minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced

I cooked the noodles according to direction and set it aside to let it dry a bit. This will make the noodles more crispy when fried.

I prepared all the ingredients so as to make the cooking process easier. I always prepare the ingredients first to prevent delay in adding ingredients in the cooking process. It will also avoid overcooking the other ingredient because of any delay.

Cooked noodles

Sliced pork

When the noodles have become a little dry, I fried small batches of it until all the noodles are fried. The noodles does not have to be too crispy, just fry the batch in high heat for 5 mins then turn it. Fry the other side for 5 mins and then take it off the pan.

Fried noodles

I fried the pork in high heat drizzled with a little soy sauce to give some taste. The pork does not have to be cooked long since it was thinly sliced and the longer it is cooked the tougher it gets. That's why I like cooking in high heat, to cook it faster and to dry out the soy sauce also. Set the pork aside.

I boiled the ear fungus until it is just the right texture. Not too soft, a little bit crunchy. I drizzled it with a little bit of soy sauce and put it in the pan I used in cooking the pork. Heat it up a little bit and take it off after 5 mins. Set aside. In the same pan, saute the onions then garlic and carrots, put the kikiam or squid balls. Cook until done. Put the cabbage and cook for another 3 mins. Set aside.

In the same pan, again, about two cups of water, a shrimp bouillon, ground pepper, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and let it boil. Taste the sauce for right saltiness, Remember that you are going to add this to the noodles so its ok to have it just a little bit of salty. In a small bowl, put 1 heaping tablespoon of cornstarch in a small amount of water just to disperse it. Put the mixture slowly in the pan while stirring constantly. Why do we use the same pan over and over again? Mind you, do not rinse it in between ingredients. The pan, with the consecutive cooking, has a lot of flavors in it and it is a waste to just wash it away.

Put the noodles in the serving plate and arrange all the meat and vegetables on top of the noodles. Drizzle the sauce over the noodles. Serve immediately or the the noodles will lose some of its texture.