Filipino food is something I never had exposure to until fairly recently, through my friend Valerie, who is half Filipino. She's been sharing foods she grew up eating with me, and I've started to see it grow more in the larger American food scene too. We had a halo halo party this summer, which was incredibly fun!
In fact, until this year all I really knew about Filipino cuisine was ube, from Hummingbird High. Ube is a purple root vegetable used to make all kinda of sweets. Then my friend here introduced me to a non-dessert Filipino food — pancit!
Two kinds of pancit noodles
The first kind of pancit I ever tried was pancit bihon. These are much thinner rice noodles. The noodles pictured here are pancit canton, a thicker wheat flour noodle. Everything else about the dish — the proteins, the vegetables, sauce — is the same. Pancit canton is the more common version.
I bought both types of noodles on a visit to the Filipino Mart in Charlotte, just to give them both a fair shake. I have to say, I think if I have a choice, I prefer the pancit canton. It's probably because they have the same thickness and texture as lo mein, another favorite noodle dish of mine.
Meatless food in Filipino culture
Meat is a huge part of Filipino culture. But there are a few food writers out there who are discussing it and trying to adapt the growing need to eat less meat into a meat-heavy culture. It was not easy to find a meatless pancit canton recipe online that seemed like it would have a similar flavor profile, so I used a little liberty and direction from other recipes to create a unique, meat and fish-free sauce version.
To make this a truly meatless dish though, you will need some specialized vegan ingredients.
You'll need vegan oyster sauce, and vegetable stock. I've found both brands of vegan oyster sauce at a well-stocked Asian market, or you can order vegan oyster sauce on Amazon. For other meatless Filipino recipes to come, you'll want to go ahead and order Ocean's Halo vegan fishless fish sauce too.
Meatless Pancit Canton
Ingredients
- ½ small onion large dice
- 20 snow peas
- 1 cup purple cabbage shredded
- ¼ cup shredded carrots
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 8 ounces dried pancit canton noodles
- cracked black pepper to taste
- ½ tablespoon calamansi juice (or to taste)
Instructions
- Mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and vegetable stock together and set aside.
- Add the 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a wok or large frying pan over medium high heat.
- Stir fry the carrots, peas, and cabbage for 2 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
- Add the other 1 tablespoon of oil and let heat up for 30 seconds.
- Gently add the onions to the pan and saute for 1 minute. Add the garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
- Pour in the soy, oyster sauce, and vegetable stock mixture. Turn the heat up to high and let the sauce bubble gently.
- Add the dry pancit noodles and use tongs to help the noodles absorb the liquid. Cover the pan with a lid and let simmer for 1 minute. Remove the lid and use the tongs to stir.
- Cover and let the noodles simmer in the sauce for 1 more minute.
- Add the vegetable back in and stir to coat with the sauce.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle with black pepper. Squeeze calamansi juice over the noodles just before serving.
Notes
Isn't this such a fun dish? It's so brightly colored and full of different flavors, textures, and of course, noodles! Anything with noodles is automatically better in my book.
What is calamansi?
The little orange fruit I squeezed onto the noodles is called calamansi. It's another unique Filipino flavor — they are like tinier, more sour limes, almost. My friend has a calamansi tree growing at her house, and she shared some with me! I am saving some seeds in hopes of growing a few one my own here too.
Calamansi can range from green to orange. Orange calamansi are ripe. Green ones are underripe, but they are often picked when green and ripen off the tree.
But if you don't have an industrious friend with calamansi trees down the street, you can order bottled calamansi. Some Asian markets with a well-stocked Filipino section may also carry them, bottled or fresh.
Looking for more meatless noodle dishes?
