Instant Pot Vegan Pumpkin Tahini Linguine

Thanks to this wonderful  site  I was able to prepare a pasta dish in the Instant Pot without any burnt residue at the bottom as I experienced previously. This method I adopted gives pasta cooked al dente. This texture is maintained even when the sauce is added at the end of the steps enumerated in the recipe below.

The short cooking time of the pasta as it is cooked separately from the sauce is key as well as how the pressure is released at the end of cooking. An additional factor is adding the sauce to the pot at the end of cooking of the pasta rather than with it.

The sauce is delicious and creamy that coats the linguine with its velvety texture.  The combination of miso and nutritional yeast gives it its umami flavor while the pumpkin and tahini paste imparts the creaminess which your tongue will relish in every bite. These latter two ingredients are more for achieving a thick sauce. You hardly detect their flavor but they successfully achieve the goal of imparting creaminess to the dish without the use of fat laden cream or beans or cashews.

Instant Pot Vegan Pumpkin Tahini Linguine

See this site for more on cooking pasta in the Instant Pot.  This recipe was inspired by this.

Ingredients: 

Sauce 

• 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
• 2 cups unsweetened, unflavored almond milk or other similar non dairy milk
• 2 tbsp white miso
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 lemon juiced
• 4 tbsp tahini paste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper Fresh or dry basil for topping

Pasta

• 1 lb (16 oz) linguine or other pasta
• 4 cups cold water
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

• Place all the sauce Ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
  

• Place the water, salt and pasta in the Instant Pot. Close the lid and put the valve to the Sealing position.

• Press the manual or "Pressure Cook" button and set the time for 1 minute on High Pressure setting for al dente (2 minutes for softer pasta).

• At the end of cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally for five minutes.

• Then quick release the steam that is left by putting a towel over the vent as you switch the valve to venting position.

• Then immediately add two thirds of the sauce to cooked pasta in pot and mix using the residual heat of the pot. Add the rest of sauce if you want pasta laden with a lot of sauce.
  

• Top pasta with fresh or dry basil.

-----

Instant Pot Vegan Pumpkin Pasta

I attended a vegan potluck at Temple David in Monroeville PA last night and I brought  this delicious crowd pleaser. This was inspired by the one prepared on the stove top by the adorable vegan  chef and YouTuber, Brittany Jaroudi.  This was one of the dishes she featured during the cooking demo she did at our Vegan Pittsburgh East Pumpkin Recipes Demonstration session last Saturday at the Murrysville Library. She has also featured a video of her recipe at her YouTube channel the Jaroudi Family.

I

The stove top approach is a one pot recipe that entailed mixing the pasta to the simmering sauce with some stirring for fifteen minutes. During the demo I wondered aloud if the recipe could be done in the Instant Pot. It was mentioned that some who have tried cooking pasta in this cooking device got mushy consistency.

I decided to experiment and come up with an Instant Pot version. The results:  UPDATE:  See this blog post for a better way to cook pasta in the Instant Pot.

1. I obtained pasta that had the consistency of those cooked the conventional way. Not mushy at all. The sauce coated the pasta and the overall dish was not dripping with sauce.

2. Since I did not saute the onion and garlic in any oil at start of process to make the recipe oil free, the lack of oil might have contributed to a bit of the pasta burning at the bottom of the pot. The digital display showed the word burn in the Instant Pot warning me about this occurring which I just  ignored.

3. As I said only a small bit got stuck at bottom of pot while the rest had excellent texture. Despite this I prefer the Instant Pot to standing in front of the stove stirring intermittently for fifteen minutes. I love the texture and taste of the dish. The pot is currently soaking and I still have to scrub the bottom of the pot now. Tsk, tsk. I wonder...

4.  The alternative is to use some oil and saute the onion and garlic as an added step or just add oil.  Another option is to cook the pasta in the broth, release the pressure, then add the sauce to the cooked pasta and mix using the residual heat of the pot or tbe saute mode. See this site for this approach.

Overall my nonvegan husband liked the one pot recipe except for the nutmeg taste. People at the potluck liked the texture and taste of this version.

Instant Pot Vegan Pumpkin Pasta

Inspired by this stove top version and this site for detailed Instant Pot instructions for pasta with sauce.  UPDATE :  See this blog post for better way to cook pasta in the Instant Pot.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz uncooked pasta (I used macaroni)
• 1 15 oz can pure pumpkin puree
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 large white or red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1\4 tsp nutmeg
• 1\4 tsp cinnamon
• 1\2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp miso paste

Add all the ingredients except the lemon juice and miso paste (note 1) in the Instant Pot and mix. Cook at manual mode using low pressure for six minutes. (note 2) . See UPDATE At the end of cooking, quick release the Instant Pot to release pressure note( 3). Add the lemon juice and miso paste to the cooked pasta mixture and mix.

Notes:

1. Miso paste is added after cooking to preserve its probiotic effect.

2. Since I did not saute the onion and garlic in oil, a little bit of the pasta burned at the bottom and the Instant Pot displayed the word burn in its digital display while cooking which I ignored. I just left the burned part at the end of cooking and scoop the rest.

3. Do not leave the pasta in the pot. The residual heat will overcook it.

Fusilli with Meatballs and Creamy Garden Pasta Sauce

I took inspiration for this dish from the show, Giada in Italy, particularly the episode Raffy and Raffy.  In this show Giada with the help of her aunt Raffy prepared a special dish which Giada's grandfather's only living sister, Rafaella also nicknamed Raffy, loves to prepare, Ziti Stufati.  It is a dense layered pasta dish featuring ziti with meatballs and ricotta tomato sauce.

This is a healthier version of this dish.  The sauce is made more nutritious by incorporating carrots and celery with the tomato base.  This is one way to incorporate more vegetables into your pasta sauce.  I used cream cheese instead of the ricotta called for in Giada's recipe but one can use that definitely.  I used Parmesan cheese but one can use mozarrella and/or cheddar cheese instead of it.

This is a rich creamy dish one can easily prepare any night or for a weekend meal.  I did use my Vita Mix blender to prepare the sauce and I did not saute any vegetables like they did in Giada's recipe to save time. If you do have time and do not mind the added oil you can do so.

Fusilli with Meatballs and Creamy Garden Pasta Sauce

• 16 oz fusilli cooked or other type of pasta
• 20 meatballs (homemade or frozen store bought)
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese or cheese of choice
• 1 recipe Creamy Garden Pasta Sauce

Creamy Garden Pasta Sauce

• 1 cup baby carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 small onion
• 2-14.5 oz diced tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 oz low fat cream cheese or ricotta
• 1 tsp dry oregano
• 1 tsp dry basil
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Sauce

Place the first four ingredients in the Vita Mix blender according to the sequence given then add the rest of the ingredients. Blend till smooth.

Assembly

Place the fusilli or other pasta in a 13 x 9 glass pan.  Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix.  Spread the meatballs over the pasta and sauce mixture.  Add the Parmesan cheese or cheese of choice on top.

Linquine with Lemon Almond Cheese

This is a plant based version of creamy linguine.  I used homemade almond cheese for the sauce.  I spiced up the dish by first sauteing jalapenos and garlic in as little olive oil as possible.  I then added the almond cheese (see photo below) I made and added the rest of the ingredients. 

I like the lemony taste of the almond cheese over the linguine.  It gives it a refreshing taste coupled with the kick from the jalapenos and garlic mixture.  It is a welcome change from the usual regular cream laden linguine.  

Linguine with Almond Cheese

• 8 oz cooked linguine (save 1 cup pasta water)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 12 pieces bottled jalapeno
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup almond cheese (recipe below)
• 1 cup pasta water you saved
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp dry onion flakes
• 1 tbsp dry garlic flakes
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Saute the jalapeno and garlic in the oil at medium heat.  Add the rest of the ingredients and heat through.

Lemon Almond Cheese

• 1 1/2 cups almond 
• 1 cup water
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Place all the ingredients in the blender and mix for 5 minutes till creamy.  

Pancit Canton with Sriracha Miso Sauce

The Filipinos have different types of noodles which are made either from rice, flour or mung beans. Rice sticks are called Pancit bihon, the flour noodles, pancit canton and the mung bean one, sotanghon.  I am using the flour stick noodle type, pancit canton, in this dish.  Originally pancit canton (and it is still available in select stores in Chinatown in your neighborhood) was made using eggs also.  Fortunately for me who is plant based, they have stuck to just using flour.

Seasoning the pancit canton varies from using soy sauce or fish sauce or both with citrus like the native calamansi or the more readily available lemon or lime.  See a recipe I posted in the past using these condiments.  In this recipe I resorted to using miso paste in place of the fish sauce to flavor the noodle dish and I was very happy with the result.  Of course there is nothing like fish sauce but this miso paste comes pretty close in the tastiness satisfaction scale for me.  I even put more kick into the dish by adding sriracha sauce.  Amazing.  I almost ate the whole thing and I am pretty picky.

Pancit Canton with Sriracha Miso Sauce

Sauce

• juice of 1 lemon   
• 2 tbsp miso paste
• 4 drops or more sriracha sauce

Vegetables and noodles                       

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1/4 cabbage head, cored and sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp dry garlic flakes or fresh garlic
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 16 oz flour noodles or pancit canton (from Asian Store) (note 1)
• pepper to taste
• 2 cups water or more as needed
• slices of green onions for garnish
• slices of lemon for garnish

Sauce:

In a small bowl mix the lemon, miso paste and sriracha sauce and set aside.

Vegetables and Noodles:

Place the vegetable broth, carrots, celery, cabbage, onion, garlic flakes and soy sauce in a wok or pot. Cover and allow to boil till the vegetables are cooked but still crispy.

Transfer the cooked vegetables into another container and leave any leftover broth in the wok or pot. Add the water to the broth and submerge the flour noodles or pancit canton in the liquid mixture while cooking at medium heat.  Let the noodle soften while stirring them.  Add more water if needed but do not add too much or the noodles will get too soggy.

When the noodles are cooked, add to it the cooked vegetables and the prepared sauce and mix.  Garnish with sliced green onions and lemon slices.

Note:

1.  You can substitute cooked spaghetti instead.  Just mix the cooked vegetables and sauce to it.  

Mediterranean Vegetable Linguine

The combination of the mediterranean vegetables make this flavorful despite the absence of any meat and oil. I added the juice of the bottled olives that gives that salty taste perfect with sundried tomatoes.  If one wants this to be dairy free, just substitute nutritional yeast or dairy free Parmesan cheese for the Parmesan cheese in the recipe.  Refreshing summer vegetarian salad.

Mediterranean Vegetable Linguine

• 8 oz cooked linguine, saving 1 cup of the pasta water
  
• 1 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup bottled olives
• 1/4 cup juice of bottled olives
• 1 yellow pepper, cut into small pieces
• 2 cups cooked broccoli florets
• 1 piece roasted red pepper in water from a jar, cut into small pieces 
• 1 tsp dry oregano
• 1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• black pepper to taste

Place in a saute pan the saved pasta water, olives, its bottled olive juice, dry tomatoes, yellow pepper, onion flakes, and garlic flakes.  Allow the liquid to boil till the yellow pepper is cooked and dry tomatoes soften. Add the cooked pasta, the broccoli, roasted red pepper, dry oregano and pepper flakes.  Lower the heat and mix the ingredients till everything is heated through.  Add the Parmesan cheese and black pepper and mix.  

Peas and Bow Tie Pasta Salad with Baden Dressing

I love this simple salad with a delicious homemade dressing I named the Baden Dressing after Baden, PA where the Mother House of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph-Baden is located.  I frequent this Mother House to attend meetings since I am an associate of this congregation.  I love eating some of the prepared salads with their delicious dressing served at their cafeteria.  The proportion of the ingredients in one of the dressings they used was shared with me by Fred the head chef of the Mother House cafeteria.  It is 1 part apple cider vinegar (not white vinegar), 1 part oil and 1 part sugar.  I refer to this as the basic Baden dressing.

They had served Peas and Bow Tie Salad at one of the special occasions at Baden.  In the recipe they shared with me they used store bought Italian dressing. They also used fresh red onions and shredded cheddar cheese as part of the ingredients. I wanted a version of this salad where the ingredients for the dressing is from scratch and straight from my spice cabinet and uses the basic Baden dressing I mentioned previously. What I did was follow the 1:1 proportion of the apple cider to sugar and lowered that of the oil to 1/2 part and added the spices found in the store bought Italian dressing to this basic Baden dressing.

I really shouldn't be eating peas and peanuts since my arthritis sometimes flares up on the joints of my fingers when eating either of these foods but I couldn't stop eating a serving instead of just a tablespoon for tasting. It is that good.  And so simple. The saltiness of the peanuts complements the sweetness of the dressing and gives the salad a crunchy texture.  The cooked frozen sweet peas in the salad makes it irresistible. You can add cheese and red onions if you want and also increase the amount of oil but why would you?  This is good enough.  If you are in a hurry you can use store bought Italian Dressing but I tell you this dressing is worth preparing. Enjoy this salad in what seems to be the start of Spring unless this moody weather changes its course once again.

Peas and Bow Tie Pasta Salad with Baden Dressing

• 6 oz cooked bow tie pasta or farfalle 
• 6 oz cooked frozen sweet peas
• 1/4 cup peanuts or nuts of your choice
• dry parsley flakes or fresh parsley for garnish

Baden Dressing

• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 tbsp sugar 
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tbsp dry onion flakes
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the baden dressing in a small jar and shake with the cover on or just mix these ingredients with a fork in a small bowl.  Place the pasta, peas and peanuts in a bowl and pour the dressing over it and toss.  You can garnish with fresh or dried parsley if you like.

Slow-Cooked Mac and Cheese

If you are one of those who could not resist saving or sharing the Facebook post that came from the one pot chef and its recipe for Slow-Cooked Mac and Cheese and wants to find out if it works, you have come to the right place.  I want to assure you in this post that it does and your family would love it.  We had this for our Easter dinner which we celebrated yesterday, a day early.

It would have been creamier looking if I added more milk as suggested in the one pot chef, but a good mac and cheese is as good as it tastes and this one was delicious.  It is so convenient to prepare too.  No precooking of the elbow macaroni at all.  You just dump everything in the slow cooker and forget it except for some stirring in the middle of cooking.  If you have a warm mode in your slow cooker like in mine, it is worry free.  The mac and cheese will be there ready hot enough to be served without any reheating or timing of the baking.  

Slow-Cooked Macaroni and Cheese

(Recipe from the one pot chef)

• 16 ounces of elbow macaroni, uncooked 
• 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 ounces of cream cheese
• 2 1/2 cups of milk
• 12 ounces of evaporated milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Stir so the cheese is distributed well.  Cook for 2 1/2 hours on the low setting. Stir a bit after 2 hours to make sure everything is melting properly, then put the lid back on and let it finish cooking. You can add more milk if you want the dish to be creamier.  

Comment:

(I slow cooked mine for 2 hours using an Aroma brand rice cooker/slow cooker at slow cooker setting.  I stirred the mixture after 1 hour and found a couple of spots that are clumped and browned but not burned at the bottom.  I stirred the mixture and allowed it too cook for another hour.   It cooked particularly well especially during the last half hour when the mixture was sort of boiling. This allowed all the cheese to melt and distribute better).

Easy Alfredo Sauce

This Alfredo Sauce will take as long or even a shorter time to make than for you to boil your pasta.  It is that easy and quick.  This recipe is decadent as can be but can be healthy-fied with the use of low fat spread like Smart Balance rather than butter and low fat cream cheese rather than the original.  This is a crowd pleaser in topping any pasta. I used homemade fettucine pasta I bought at a fundraising event but you can use any commercial one.

The presence of cream cheese makes the consistency of the sauce to be thick.  The milk helps you modulate this thickness.  The Parmesan cheese, garlic, garlic powder and dry minced onions round up the taste of this Alfredo Sauce which is comparable or even better than the bottled ones. 

Easy Alfredo Sauce

• 1/2 stick butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup 2 % milk. use more or less according to thickness of sauce you prefer
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp dry minced onions, optional
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saute pan.  Add the garlic to the butter and saute till softened.  Lower the heat and add the cream cheese and blend the mixture.  Add the milk gradually till you have the consistency you like.  Add the Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and dry onions (if using).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Use to top fettucine or any other pasta you like.

Macaroni Pineapple Chicken Salad

Macaroni Pineapple Chicken Salad

This macaroni salad which features pineapple as one of its ingredients is very popular in the Philippines and is a favorite of anyone for that matter who has tasted it.  In fact I find it heartwarming how one of my American friends described what one of her Filipino friends gave her as a thank you gift as "macaroni salad with pineapple".  It is an unforgettable dish not only because it is unique but also because it is delicious.  Filipinos love to serve this for parties and fiestas since it goes well with any main dish like ham or fried chicken for example.

The version I am sharing with you came from one of several cookbooks that have been published by the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh through the years. Nenette Angeles was the editor of the 4 editions of this cookbook titled "Cooking with the Filipinos of Pittsburgh, PA". 

Nenette Angeles has devoted much of her life in Pittsburgh to two things, namely,  her family especially when her children were very young and promoting Filipino culture.  They moved to Monroeville, PA when Olie, Nenette's husband, got a position at US Steel. 



Olie and Nenette at their kitchen where they both love to cook sumptuous, authentic and mouth-watering Filipino dishes.





She and Olie both graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP). She was chosen one of the Lakambinis at UP, an honor given to those women at UP who have achieved outstanding academic performance.  Her husband was a National Science Development Board (NSDB) scholar all through out his college years at UP. They both finished their PhD degrees at the University Wisconsin. Madison, Nenette in Food Science while Olie in Chemical Engineering.  They are brainy indeed but they are also very humble and down to earth.

I have never seen a couple so devoted to promoting the Filipino culture the way Nenette and Olie have been and continue to be so with the Philippine American Performing Arts of Greater Pittsburgh (PAPAGP). Do visit the PAPAGP website and marvel at the incredible fruits of the love and labor that they put into the organization along with the other hardworking members of the PAPAGP.  The website features the outstanding dances choreographed by the creative team consisting of the prolific president of the PAPAGP, Deedee Portugal, and Co-Artistic Director Beth Hoey, and performed by the talented dance troupe.  (see picture below showing Deedee at the rehearsal for the 2014 dance recital).

Deedee with the young members of the dance troupe during the rehearsal.

  

One of many dances performed during this 2014 recital is the intricate singkil shown below.



Singkil, one of the dances performed during the November 22, 2014 PAPAGP Recital.

When you get to visit Nenette and Olie's impeccably decorated and clean house, you will notice the various photographs that grace the walls of their family room. Here are some of the ones I took pictures of.  If you are lucky like I have been you might also get to eat some of the delicious dishes that they cook.

Nenette all dressed up as one of the Reyna Elenas during the Santacruzan, a yearly summer procession observed in the Philippines.

Their graduation pictures at UP.

Nenette and Olie at their wedding which was held in the United States.



Nenette and Olie in traditional Filipino garbs,  "saya" and "barong tagalog" respectively.

Here is the easy and simple recipe of the Macaroni Pineapple Chicken Salad taken straight from the recipe file of Nenette's mother, Victoria. (See picture below).

Victoria, Nenette's late beloved mother, is in the middle of this picture representing three generations of Nenette's family.  Maureen representing the third generation is on the right.

Macaroni Pineapple Chicken Salad

(Courtesy of Nenette Angeles .  This recipe appeared in one of the cookbooks by the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh  It is currently no longer available)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 1 (20 oz) can pineapple tidbits, undrained
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, boiled in salted water and diced
• 1 cup sweet pickle relish
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cup Hellman's light mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt or adjust to taste
• Pepper, adjust to taste

Cook macaroni according to package directions and drain.  Toss all ingredients together including juice from canned pineapple.  Mixture will appear watery at first, but the pasta on standing will absorb juices.  This salad must be chilled and refrigerated overnight.  It cannot be frozen. 


Enjoy!  Every member of my family loves this and so would yours.

Pancit Canton with Shrimp and Vegetables and My Sister Menchie

Pancit Canton with Shrimp and Vegetables

This particular recipe uses the Chinese/Filipino flour noodle called pancit canton. The "sahog" or other stuff in it are a mixture of vegetables and shrimps.  The seasonings used comprise of fish sauce, soy sauce and lime.  One can also use lemon or better yet calamansi if you have access to it for the citrus taste essential to the dish.  I also garnish it with hard-boiled egg and green onions. 

Note the label did not mention any eggs as ingredient.  Some refer to Pancit canton as the egg noodle.  This dry version is not apparently. However, according to Jun Belen author of the wonderful Jun-Blog blog site, fresh canton noodles are made of eggs. 

My younger sister Menchie celebrated her birthday last week and I actually forgot about it and did not get to call her till two weeks later.  So this post is my peace offering.  During birthday celebrations Filipinos prepare a noodle dish to wish the celebrant long life.  I decided to prepare Pancit Canton with shrimps and vegetable in her honor.  One can also use chicken, pork, beef and smoked meat like ham and sausages individually or in combination with each other.


Menchie. Ate Bebeng and myself.

Menchie is the youngest in our family of 3 sisters and 3 brothers.  Her passion is sewing and doing crafts.  She actually majored in Textile Design at the University of the Philippines and worked at Ocean Pacific making the designs on their T-shirts.

She and I are 7 years apart and look very similar to each other.  My witty and sometimes annoying brother Chot one time posed this question to us when we were playing during our younger years.  "How do you spell Menchie in five letters?" The answer: Ondes. (My childhood nickname). Chot has always marveled at how much Menchie and I resemble each other.

Menchie is fearless and versatile. When I got married she did my upswept hairdo without telling me it was her first time to do so and on the biggest day of my life at that!  It was professionally done I would admit and I would not have known her lack of experience until she told me.
 

Menchie doing my hair for my wedding in 1981.

She can sew all day and she is good at it. She can easily sew one or two dresses in one day. She is also very resourceful. I remember her making a cover from remnants for our first sofa a friend passed on to us when Bob and I were newly married. She made the beautiful runners for her son Chris and daughter-in-law Chris' wedding reception last year plus the dresses for one of the bridesmaids and the flower girl.



Menchie with son Chris and husband Bubut at Chris' wedding.

Chris and Chris, also known as Team Chris, at their wedding with their mothers during the sand ceremony. 

 Menchie is very talented.  Her amazing creativity is most evident in the jaw-dropping headless costumes (see below) she made for herself and Bubut as Marie Antoinette and Louis the VI, respectively, at the Halloween ball of the San Beda high school class Bubut belongs to.  Needless to say they easily won, heads off, I mean, hands down, first prize.





 Belated Happy Birthday Menchie!  See you in March at Los Angeles.

Pancit Canton with Shrimp and Vegetables

Ingredients: 

• 8 oz Pancit Canton (available in any Asian Grocery Store)
• 2 tbsps vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 large carrot, julienned
• 3 celery stalks, sliced thinly in bias cut
• 1/2 a cabbage head, chopped in strips
• chicken stock, 2 -3 cups or as needed
• 8 large raw shrimps unpeeled but deveined (thawed in microwave if frozen saving the juice)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 hard boiled eggs, cut into slices or chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• soy sauce
• fish sauce
• lime or lemon slices

Saute the onion and garlic in 2 tbsps vegetable oil.  Once the onion is translucent and the garlic a little browned but not burn, add the carrot and celery.  Continue to saute the vegetables.  When the carrot and celery are half done, add the chopped cabbage.  You may add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chicken stock at this point of stirring only if you need to. Stir the mixture till the vegetables are cooked and yet still crisp.  Add salt and pepper to taste.    Add the raw unpeeled shrimps including its juice if you microwaved them frozen.  The juice of the shrimps and the shrimps themselves give this dish a distinct taste.  Continue to stir fry till the shrimps turned pink.

Remove the mixture from the wok or pan leaving any juice.  Add the noodles in the pan and add about 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken broth.  Do not submerge the noodles in too much broth.  Add only enough to wet the noodles at the bottom of the pan, crush the rest and stir till the noodles are cooked.  Add more broth only if you need to wet the noodles or else it will get soggy.  However if it does happen let it go since it will still be good.

Once the noodle is done, add the vegetable and shrimp mixture and just heat through.  Garnish with the sliced or chopped eggs and green onions.  You can add soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice to the pancit canton according to taste at this point or you can put the three seasonings to the side for the guests to flavor the pancit according to their own taste.  I prefer the latter.  The pancit canton is pretty much seasoned with salt and pepper during cooking.  The other seasonings are there to enhance the flavor.  But then again I am watching my salt.  The lime or other citrus that you squeeze over your serving is an essential component and do not skip it.