Pancit Canton egg noodles have a distinct flavor that makes them easy to identify. For this reason, I don’t think this dish needs a lot of other toppings that will just complicate the preparation.
When preparing this pancit canton to my family, I used what I had on hand, such as pork, chicken liver, and some vegetables, along with some seasoning. Do the same, follow the recipe but feel free to use whatever you find at home.
Tips On The Ingredients
Although I’m not a huge fan of seafood, they would make excellent additions to the pancit. You may also add Chinese-style toppings like kikiam or squid balls. Other vegetables you may opt to add are celery, snow peas, and green beans.
Pancit canton noodles are the main ingredient of this dish, but they can be hard to come by. You can sub in medium thick egg noodles or try these sponsored products on Amazon.
Use pork shoulder or belly, cut into smaller parts and precook them before adding to your pancit canton.
If you don’t have pork stock, use chicken or vegetable stock instead. Also you can leave out the bouillon cube, but you might want to add some salt in that case.
Additional Tips
For better results, here are some tips about cooking Pancit Canton.
Prepare all the ingredients, such as cutting the meat and slicing the veggies before starting to cook. Making pancit is simple and just takes a few minutes from start to finish.
Keep the Pancit Canton saucy because even after cooking, the noodles will absorb additional liquid. If the noodles aren’t cooked through, simply add extra water until the noodles are thoroughly cooked.
The size of the meat and vegetables must be proportioned to cook them quickly. It also makes them evenly cooked and suitable for plating.
We must maintain the veggies half-cooked to avoid them becoming soggy as the heat will continue to cook them as they are placed on top of the pancit.
Toppings And Decoration
Feel free to add any type of topping to your pancit canton that you like or what you have at home.
For my version of pancit canton, I used the combination of pork and vegetables on top with toasted garlic, sliced boiled eggs, chicharon (fried pork rinds), and calamansi on the side. If you don’t have calamansi on hand, squeeze some juice from a quarter of lemon instead. The sourness and zest provided by the citrus juices make the perfect meal taste.
½lbspork250 g, shoulder or belly, boiled till tender and cut into small pieces
1cupcarrotcut into strips
3cupscabbagecut into thin layers
¼cupchicken liverdiced
½cupvegetable oil
⅛cupgarlicminced
½cuponionsminced
4cupspork stock
½cupsoy sauce¼ cup for the veggies and ¼ cup for the pancit
1bouillon cube
1tspground black pepper
For The Toppings
1tbspgarlictoasted
½cupchicharonor fried pork rinds
2eggsboiled, sliced into 2 or 4 lengthwise
2calamansior one quartered lemon
Instructions
In a wok or large skillet, heat the frying oil until it shimmers. Sauté the onions and garlic in the cooking oil until they are soft and golden. At this time, add the pork to the skillet and stir until done—Cook for five minutes, or until it is done and crispy.
Add the chicken livers, be careful not to overcook them, or they might crumble. Toss in the soy sauce, water, and black pepper, followed by the carrot slices, to flavor the sautéed meat. Egg noodles have their own salty taste, so be careful not to add more soy sauce.
Mix in the cabbage and cook for a few minutes more. You don't want to lose the crisp of the cabbage when you combine it with the pancit, so cook it just long enough. The crunchiness of the cabbage, when eaten with pancit, gives an exciting twist to the meal, so avoid overcooking it. Set aside a portion of the cooked vegetables for after plating.
Add 4 cups of pork stock and the bouillon cube to the remaining mixture in the skillet for flavor. Bring it to a rolling boil over high heat, then stir in the egg noodles. To keep the noodles from adhering to the bottom of the pan, toss them constantly until they are tender. The whole procedure may take up to 15 minutes.
When the pancit noodles are fully cooked, remove the dish from the heat and transfer it to a platter. We'll finish it off with the sautéed vegetables and pork that we saved for the last step. At this point, you have complete freedom to experiment with toppings.
For my dish, I used the combination of pork and vegetables on top with toasted garlic, sliced boiled eggs, chicharon (fried pork rinds), and calamansi on the side. If you don't have calamansi on hand, squeeze some juice from a quarter of lemon instead. The sourness and zest provided by the citrus juices make the perfect meal taste.
Notes
Tips on the ingredients
For the pancit canton noodles you can sub in medium thick egg noodles.
Use pork shoulder or belly, cut into smaller parts and precook them before adding it to your pancit canton.
If you don’t have pork stock, use chicken or vegetable stock.