Chef Alvin Cailan his grandmother's Pancit Bihon recipe
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Ginger Zee takes to Instagram to make chef Alvin Cailan's signature Filipino stir-fried noodle dish affectionately called "Lola's Pancit Bihon."
Lola is the most commonly used Filipino word for grandmother.
"My Lola would sit at the kitchen table cutting vegetables in her hand, mounds of snap peas, carrots, cabbage, and onions overflowing the bowl," Cailan explained to "GMA." These noodles are super thin, similar in texture to rice sticks.
Recipe for Lola’s Pancit Bihon (Noodles with Vegetables)
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pound dried thin rice noodles (the package will say “rice sticks” or “bihon”)
1 tablespoon canola oil
⅓ cup thinly sliced onion (½ small onion)
¼ cup minced garlic (about 10 large cloves)
⅓ cup thinly sliced celery (½ stalk)
⅓ cup thinly sliced carrot (1 small carrot)
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup Silver Swan soy sauce
½ medium green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 pound shredded meat from poached chicken or rotisserie chicken
¼ to ½ cup fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
¼ cup thinly sliced scallions (2 to 3 scallions)
Hard-Cooked Eggs sliced, for garnish (optional)
Directions
For the Noodles:
Soak the noodles in a large bowl of cold water for 5 minutes, or until the noodles are softened. Drain thoroughly and set aside.
Heat a large wok over high heat until blistering hot. Add your oil, then cut the heat to medium and heat until you see the oil ripple, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and garlic and stir-fry until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and stir-fry until softened, 2 to 4 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and soy sauce and stir to combine. This will essentially deglaze the wok; make sure to scrape the fond (browned bits) from the bottom of the wok so nothing’s stuck there. Cook until the liquid is simmering, then gently fold in the drained noodles.
Add your cabbage and toss with tongs to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, until the noodles have absorbed the liquid, about 7 min-utes. Add the chicken (shredded rotisserie chicken) and cook, stirring, until the chicken is heated through, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat if the noodles start to stick to the wok.
Plate the noodles, sprinkle the lemon juice and scallions over the top, garnish with hard-cooked eggs, and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
For the Hard-Cooked Eggs:
12 large eggs
Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the water is at a rolling boil, add the eggs and let them boil for 7 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice and water. Pull the eggs out of the pot and dunk them in the ice bath for 15 minutes to stop the cooking.
Run the eggs under cold water, peel, and I promise, you will have perfect hard-cooked eggs every time.
