Filipino Pancit

These are the kinds of crazy recipes that I end up cooking when I ask for my mother's help in meal planning!  On my last grocery store trip, my goal was to buy mostly healthy food to help get us all in wedding shape.  I have lots of healthy recipes to share with you in the next couple weeks.  However, I can never say no to a good pasta dish, and when Mom stumbled upon this one, she was hooked.  It's a huge (serves 12 - 16) dish of stir-fried noodles mixed with vegetables, pork, and a flavorful sauce.  The blogger it came from worked in an orphanage in the Philippines for a year, and said this was their birthday party go-to meal.  I can see why!  Quick, easy, delicious, and hugely portioned, this would be a great go-to for us too.  I mean, except for the fact that it does have pork (don't worry, any pieces that accidentally made their way into my bowl were fed to Daisy under the table).

My mom has been talking about "the porky noodles" for the last week.  The name kind of grosses me out, but then again I am not entirely sure how to say pancit.  Even though this recipe makes a giant amount, it all went quickly and was gone within days.  It reheats pretty well too.

I liked how the recipe calls for "noodles" and "vegetables."  It's a very versatile meal.  You don't have any bell peppers (or like me, only have one small one?!)  Toss in some cabbage (because again, like me, perhaps you find yourself strangely with 2 cabbages in your fridge).  Can't find vermicelli or pancit noodles?  Rice noodles work fine, or just plain thin spaghetti, which is what I used.  The options are endless and can be based on your preferences or whatever you happen to have on hand.

Doesn't this recipe make you want a giant wok?  Definitely going to register for one :)

Recipe:

Filipino pancit
from Pinch of Yum
serves 12 - 16

Ingredients:
2 pounds uncooked noodles (this version used a combination of pancit and vermicelli)
4 cups sliced mixed veggies: cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, green onions, etc.
1 pound lean pork, cut into very small pieces
1/2 cup oil
1 onion, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 pork bouillon cube (I couldn't find it anywhere; I used chicken)
6 cups water

Instructions:

1) Soak the vermicelli in water for about 5 minutes or until soft.

2) Brown the pork in the oil with the soy sauce, garlic, and onion.

3) Add the water and bouillon cube to the pork and bring it to a low simmer.  Add the vegetables and cook for 5 - 10 minutes.  Add the uncooked pancit noodles and soaked vermicelli.  Simmer over low heat until the noodles soak up all the broth.