And You Said You've Already Tasted Saucy Canton

Pancit Canton Guisado is almost always present in every handaans especially on birthday celebrations, one may not have a cake but pancit canton is a must have. But beyond special occasions, it has become the most commonly prepared of all the pancit dishes.

You can get it at any turo-turo or carinderia and of course, there's the ever reliable instant noodle packages too. It is as common as Thursdays, and people don't even like Thursdays.

So why the hell should you cook pancit canton guisado then? Because even with your perceived culinary magnificence, you never actually cooked pancit canton except for Lucky Me Hot Chili... until after you cook this:

Saucy Pork & Shrimp Pancit Canton

INGREDIENTS

500g dried pancit canton (dried egg noodles)
3 tbsp oil
6 cloves of garlic, minced
4 shallots, sliced
1 thin slice of ginger
1/4 cup shrimps, peeled
1/4 cup pork, thinly sliced
1/4 cup shitake mushrooms
1 stick celery, sliced
2 small carrots, sliced
1 medium head of cabbaged, shredded
1/2 cup of zucchini, slice (para sauce-yal, but optional)
1/2 cup of broccoli flowers (para mas feeling sauce-yal, but optional)
1/4 cup of soy sauce
a dash of fish sauce
2 1/2 cups of my caldo, regular chicken stock or water. (your call...)
pinch of brown sugar
salt and ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup of slurry
chopped green onion and wansuy as garnish (optional)

METHOD

1. Heat oil in wok and saute onion, ginger, garlic and shrimps
2. Add pork cook til light brown
3. Add mushroom and carrots, saute till carrots is half cooked
4. Add the cabbage  
5. Season with soy sauce and sugar
6. Add pork stock and boil on high heat
7. Season with fish sauce and pepper
8. Set the vegetables aside, leaving the broth
9. Add the canton noodles and cook till al dente
10. Add the slurry till the sauce thickens
11. You should leave a considerable amount of sauce for it to be saucy? Ok?
12. Place the noodles in a serving plate and top it with the vegetables and garnish.
13. Serve immediately.

THINGS OF NOTE

- CALDO IS LIFE! The life of your pancit depends on the quality of your caldo or stock.
- Adjust the seasoning according to the kind of noodle used. Saltiness of the dried pancit canton may vary. 
- Also adjust the amount of slurry depending on the starchiness of the noodles.
- You can also use beef and seafood as replacement proteins.
- I don't recommend the vegetarian version of this because the greatness of this dish is based on the quality of the stock used (unless you concocted a kick-ass vegetarian stock, then you should e-mail me the recipe. kthnx!).