Lunch Club – Pancit Sotanghon (Stir Fried Bean Thread Noodles)

Lunch Club is turning out to be a mini quest for me to introduce Filipino food to my community (made up of mostly non-Filipinos). Although Filipino food is equally as good as other Asian cuisines what we’re well known for outside of the Philippines is mainly classified as bizarre food. In fact, the only TV show that showcased Filipino cuisine was Bizarre Foods on the Travel & Living channel.

So anyway, in my own small way I am trying to make a difference. Today, we had Pancit Sotanghon (Stir Fried Bean Thread Noodles). Among all the stir fried noodles this is one I find the easiest to make. Bean Thread Vermicelli is quite forgiving in that it doesn’t break up quite easily like rice or egg noodles. You can have it cold like in a noodle salad. You can have it in a soup. Or like today’s menu, you can have it stir fried.

I especially like the texture of this noodle. It’s a bit jelly like. It doesn’t have a strong flavour like other types of noodles. It just absorbs the flavours of the other ingredients in the stir fry.

I made some Pan de Sal to go with the Sotanghon. Traditionally we squeeze Calamansi (Philippine Lime) into the noodles before eating but lemon would do for today.