Professional cooking has been my life for nearly 20 years, whether as a prep cook, chef of a restaurant, teaching, or catering private events. As I was growing up my dad was the one who cooked in our house, and I would be enlisted to peel (lots of) garlic or clean (many) green beans. During the holiday season he would make massive amounts of pansit, packing it up and bringing it to our friends as a gift, with me riding shotgun in the truck holding the food so it wouldn’t fall over. The long noodles represent a long life, and are meant to bring good luck to a house in the coming year.
He would do it the old-school way, which meant making a light stock from pork bones rather than using premade chicken stock. We would go to Fou Lee to get ingredients instead of the Safeway up the street, which also meant picking up a siopao (steamed bun) or pork BBQ skewer and suman (sticky rice in banana leaves) for snacks. There would be bags of dried noodles and packages of Chinese sausage all over the kitchen table, the refrigerator overflowing with vegetables competing for space with all the rest of our food.
There are Asian grocery stores closer to my house than Fou Lee, but I still find myself going there when I want to make something that my dad cooked. Now I pick up pan de coco or ube bread for C., who occasionally stands on a stepstool and watches me do things in the kitchen. I haven't assigned them any kitchen drudgery just yet.
Pork Stock
Makes about 8 cups
5 pounds pork bones
1 head garlic
1 yellow onion, split into quarters
1 inch ginger, cut into thick coins
2 T black peppercorns
4 quarts water
In a pot large enough to hold all the bones in roughly two layers, add the bones, garlic, onion, ginger, peppercorns, and water (add more water as needed to cover the bones).
Bring to a boil and skim off any scum that floats to the top, then add water as needed to cover the bones. Drop the heat to a simmer and cook for about 2 - 3 hours.
Strain the solids out and discard. You should have about 8 cups of stock, more than enough for this recipe. Save and freeze the unused portion for another use (or more pansit).
Note: You don't have to make your own stock for this recipe, but it will be better for it. And you’ll have extra stock on hand, which is always nice.
This recipe is easily made vegetarian (vegan!) if you use vegetable stock and substitute fried tofu and shiitake mushrooms for the meat. Asian grocery stores also carry vegetarian oyster sauce.
Pansit
Makes 6 - 8 servings
2 T high heat oil
1/2 yellow onion, sliced into batons
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces carrot, julienned (about 1 medium)
6 ounces green beans, cut in half across
6 ounces shredded cabbage (about 1/8th of a cabbage)
2 lap cheong (Chinese sausage) cut on a bias ⅛-inch thick
1/2 pound 20-25 shrimp
2 1/2 C pork stock
¼ cup soy sauce
2 T oyster sauce
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into slices ¼-inch thick
1/2 pound boneless pork country style ribs, cut across into slices ¼-inch thick
1 16-ounce package rice noodles (Bihon)
4 green onions, sliced on a bias
2 limes, cut into wedges
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat a wok or large saute pan over medium high heat and add the oil. Add the onions and saute until translucent (1 -2 minutes), then add the garlic and cook, stirring to prevent burning, until fragrant (another 10 - 20 seconds).
Add the carrot and cook for another minute, then the green beans and cabbage. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes or until just cooked through, then transfer everything in the wok to a bowl or rimmed baking sheet. Bring the pan back to medium high, and add another tablespoon of oil if needed. Add the Chinese sausage and shrimp. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir fry until shrimp are pink and opaque. Remove and set with vegetables.
Stir together the stock, soy sauce, and oyster sauce to combine. Using the same pan from before, bring to a simmer, and add the sliced chicken and pork. Poach until just cooked through, then set with the other cooked ingredients.
Add the bihon to the pan with the stock-soy mixture. The noodles will slowly collapse and soften as they cook. Stir to make sure the noodles absorb the sauce evenly, then add back the cooked ingredients and toss to combine.
Garnish with the green onions and serve with the lime wedges.
*A version of this was published in A Seat at the Table, a collection of recipes for the Trans Justice Funding Project. Artist credit: Gabriel Foster
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