The Philippines – Pancit Palabock With Calamansi

by Zayna Khan

This dish is traditional Filipino noodles made with calamansi that means lemon. These noodles are very tangy in taste and have crunchy addition of vegetables with protein in the form of meat like prawns, fish chunks, chicken, etc. Pancit is cooked by noodles made up of flour, wheat flour. Glass noodles are also be cooked in this dish. Raw vegetables are also added before serving for crunch and colors. Vegetables are most commonly used, spring onions, carrots, napa cabbage, and Lemon. Sometimes Calamansi is added to the sauce and tosses with noodles. These are very versatile dishes with the addition of any vegetables and meat you like. For the healthy versions, wheat noodles are added and less butter is for low calories. This dish is very light and full of nutrition. It has fulfilled all the minerals and nutrients requirements of the body in the form of protein and carbohydrates with essential fatty acids. Protein is added in the form of meat like healthy options as fish, prawns, chicken, and lamb meat. Noodles have a good quantity of carbohydrates. Butter is added for taste and moisture and also fulfills the healthy essential fat requirements. In this form, we can get full minerals like iron, zinc, folic acid, etc in the form of vegetables.

This dish is basically cooked by adding calamansi to the noodles. This gives a very nice sour and tangy taste to the noodles or pancit. In Filipino cuisine, pancit is used to be named for dishes in which noodles are added. It can be either noodle soup, noodles stir-fried, noodles cakes, etc. Pancit is a good combination when calamansi is added in this.

Pancit has many versions:

• Pancit bihon guisado
• Batsoy ( soupy noodles )
• Pancit batcony ( stir fried batsoy )
• Pancit cabagan ( wet noodles )
• Pancit choca ( made with squid ink, black in color )
• Pancit mami ( egg noodles soup )
• Pancit miki ( Noodles with thick chicken broth )
• Pancit palabok ( Thin noodles ith shrimp sauce )

HISTORY OF PANCIT

Noodles were first time introduced to the Philippines by the Chinese during agricultural trading. It was getting prominent by Chinese immigrants. The natives and locals of the Philippines adopted the cultural and many other traditions of immigrants including cooking methods and dishes. The local cuisine of the Philippines, Filipino cuisine has great by Spanish.

People of the old Philippines used to substitute noodles with many different variants like :

• Coconut strips
• Papaya thinly cut
• Noodles cooked by beans
• French beans
• Beans sprouts
• Bamboo shoots, etc.

The word PANCIT is derived from PHILIPPINES HOKKIEN CHINESE, that literary means CONVENIENT FOOD.

There are many different kinds of noodles and different kinds of noodle dishes are cooked and part of the Filipino cuisine. Different techniques of noodles making, different sauces, vegetables, and cooking method influenced by China is very commonly used nowadays.

VARIETIES OF PANCIT DISHES

1. BATCHOY

This dish is very popular in La Paz Philippines. This is actually a soupy noodle or soup with noodles. The most ingredient of this dish is Pork. Broth can be cooked by chicken, lamb, beef, pork. Pork meat is added to this broth for a delectable taste.

This dish has different names like :

• Batchoy soup
• La paz batchoy
• Batsoy
• Ba-chui
• Bachoe

Batchoy is a dish popular outside the Philippines in :

• Spain
• China
• Tagalog, etc.

2.KINALAS

Kinalas is a saucy noodle, it has thick sauce addition with pig’s head or cow’s head. This is very delicious and full of nutritious dishes. The brain of a cow or pig is most commonly added to this dish. Siling and hot pepper is added to the top of the serving dish. There are many different ways to represent the dish.

The color of the sauce is brown and cooked by the cow’s brain. Pig’s head can also be cooked with this dish. Hot broth is added to the brain with some boiled eggs and served with noodles.

This word KINALAS is derived from the word KALAS, which means ”to remove the meat from the bones”.

3.PANCIT BIHON

 Pancit bihon is a dish cooked with rice vermicelli with shrimp and some vegetables. The adobo-style sauce is cooked mixed with rice vermicelli and vegetables. It also included meat varieties like fish, shrimp, chicken, and pork offals. It is served with calamansi and boiled eggs.

Following are the main elements of this dish :

• Rice vermicelli (instead of noodles)
• Pork offals
• Adobo style garlic chili sauce
• Chicken broth
• Hard boiled eggs
• Calamansi

4.PANCIT CHOCA

These are very unique Filipino Balck seafood noodles. These are black because squid Ink is used to make Bihon or rice vermicelli black in color. The original and authentic name of Pancit choco is pancit choca en su tinta.

It is also known as en su tinta, which means “noodle with squid in its own ink”.

There are following its other names :

• Black pancit
• Squid pancit
• En su tinta
• Pancit choca en su tinta
• Pancit estacion negra

5. PANCIT MALABON

This is thick rice noodles and has yellow-colored sauce cooked by Annatto seeds.

Annatto seeds are usually used to dye orange-yellow colors. It has a slight pepper and sweet-sour taste. Its taste is similar to nutmeg. It has nutty but peppery and some touch of sweetness in the flavor. It is used with hot water to infuse the color and taste. It is used in many dishes and used with ingredients like milk, cheese, custard, noodles, bread, etc.

Elements of the pancit malabon are :

• Annatto sauce
• Rice thick noodles
• Crab fat
• Milkfish
• Smoked chicken
• Mussels
• Oyster

6.PANCIT LOMI

This dish is saucy thick egg noodles with some vegetables and broth is used. The sauce is cooked by meaty broth and has the addition of noodles in which it has half an inch of diameter. Small pieces of meat most probably chicken and pork are used.

Lomi is served in sauce and has many other variants. It is eaten with soya sauce and Calamansi juice.

Main ingredients of pancit Lomi :

• Chili peppers
• Scallots
• Red onions
• Broth
• Meat balls
• Lomi egg noodles

ELEMENTS OF THE DISH

WOTON NOODLES

These are Cantonese noodles and are very popular in cuisines like Chinese, Filipino, Japanese and Korean, etc. They are served in broth or some sauce with many ingredients in the form of pieces and chinks. Vegetable pieces, meat pieces with broth, and noodles are a delicious combination. Wonton noodles are popular in regions like :

• Malaysia
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Philippines
• Veitnam, etc

MEAT VARIETIES

This dish goes well with all the meat variety but commonly used meat options are :

• Fish
• Prawns
• Oyster
• Clams
• Squid
• Chicken
• Crab fats

VEGETABLES OPTIONS

• Chayote
• Okra
• Calabaza
• Mushrooms
• Calamansi
• Mustard greens
• Kamias
• Green beans
• Cauliflower

SAUCES

• Miso stock
• Tsuyu sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Bugnay wine
• Inihaw sauce
• fish sauce

TOPPINGS

• Peanuts
• Coconut aminos
• Bilimbi fruit
• Shallots
• Boiled egg
• Rice cakes

INGREDIENTS

• Thick egg noodles : 1 pack
• Chicken broth : 2 cups
• Soya sauce : 2 tbsp
• Oyster sauce : 4 tbsp
• Rice vinegar : 2 tbsp
• Chili peppers : 1 tbsp
• Komatsuna : 1 bunch
• Kamias : 1/2 cup
• Green beans : 1/2 cup
• Corns : 1 cup
• Pork chunks : 200 lbs
• Chicken pieces : 100 lbs
• Boiled eggs : 2
• Scallions : 4 tbsp
• Sesame seeds : 1 tbsp

COOKING METHOD

• First of all we need to boil the egg noodles in water for around 20 minutes.
• When noodles are tendered, drain the water and sprinkle some oil droplets in order to prevent stickiness.
• Now take some oil in the cooking pot and add meat pieces of chicken and pork. Stir the meat and add broth.
• Now drizzle some seasonings, add sauces and cook it for 10 minutes.
• When meat pieces are tendered, add vegetables and cook it until sauce thickened.
• When broth is half dried, add noodles and mix well.
• Now let these noodles serve with boiled eggs and scallions.
• Enjoy 🙂