At home – Pancit Sotanghon (Stir fried Bean-Thread Noodles) revisited

As mentioned in the previous post it was my wife’s birthday a couple of days ago. We would normally go out to dinner but that night we just didn’t feel like going anywhere. And at this stage in the pregnancy (7+ months) we’re not quite up to staying out very late.

So anyway, Cherry requested I cook noodles because she actually felt like having noodles and also as a birthday tradition. She already had her big dinner party on the weekend when we served noodles but she wanted more. Being the obedient husband (takusa) I gladly complied.

I love sotanghon (bean thread noodles). I actually did not know that it was made from soy beans until recently. How cool is that! I also like it because among all the noodle varieties it is the most forgiving. It’s pretty hard to get it wrong. You can’t do that with bihon (rice noodles) or miki (egg noodles) or even Canton noodles. Too much or too little broth means disaster. Not with sotanghon.

Pinoy sotanghon is typically bright yellow or orange due to the atchuete (annatto). I don’t think the atchuete adds anything to the dish apart from colour so I never actually use it.

Kidpawan’s Sotanghon

500g Sotanghon (bean thread vermicellit)

Chicken (whatever part you like except for claws, beaks and feathers)

2 cups chicken stock

2 medium sized onions chopped

4-6 cloves of garlic chopped

1/3 cup Kinchay (Chinese celery, you can substitute normal celery)

2 Chinese sausages chopped

1 large carrot julienned

1 cup mushrooms (fresh not canned)

1 head broccoli (optional)

Half a cabbage head

1/3 cup soy sauce (Lee Kum Kee Premium is the best. It’s light in colour and not too salty)

2-3 tablespoons oyster sauce

Salt

A bit of oil for sautéing

Freshly cracked black pepper

1. Boil the chicken together with one onion and a bit of salt in approximately 2 cups of water for about 10-15 minutes. Let it cool down. Save the stock. Chop the chicken.
2. Soak the noodles in cold water for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. In a large wok heat up a bit of oil. Sauté the garlic until golden brown then add the chopped onions.
4. When the onions are soft and translucent add the chicken and the Chinese sausages.
5. Add the carrots. Add a bit of oyster sauce and soy sauce at this stage. Stir fry for a minute.
6. Add the rest of the vegetables plus some more soy sauce, oyster sauce and black pepper. Stir fry for about another minute. You do not need to cook them fully at this stage.
7. Take the stir fried mix off the wok and set aide.
8. Pour the stock in the wok and let it boil. Adjust the taste by adding salt, pepper, soy sauce and oyster sauce.
9. Lower the heat then add the noodles. If it is too dry add some more stock a little bit at a time to avoid soggy noodles.
10. Add the stir fried mix back in the wok. Mix it well with the noodles. Cook for another 5 minutes or so.
11. Add more black pepper. Cover the wok and turn off the heat. Let it stand for about 5-10 minutes.
12. Turn the heat back on and stir fry the noodles one more time before serving.
13. Serve with pan de sal.