Before I go on w/ my noodle blogging, i just wanna mention here that im happy to inspire a friend of mine to start his own recipe blog! That’s in spite of my non-pro cooking or what I call edible experiments. Go boy!

I’m the youngest in our family, so cooking pancit or any type of fried noodles (which was a holiday specialty) was never assigned to me back home. The first time I ever tried (w/ the exception of instant noodles, ofcourse) was for the millennium dinner! (that millenium dinner is a story worth-telling in my autobiography.) Anyways, my recipe below is somewhat special because it’s not really pancit canton which is actually wheat noodles & what i really had in mind. Instead I got 2 packs of instant noodles, discard all those preservatives inside & used just the noodles. How we come up w/ the idea? well, it’s a bit difficult to find the right stuff around here.

By the way, this pancit is for some birthday girl out there!

Ingredients:
1/4 kilo pork (it wud be nicer if mixed w/ some chicken)
1 tbsp. of garlic
1 onion
1 carrot
sitsaro or pea pods (maybe about a handful or so)
cabbage
2 packets of noodles
salt & pepper
soy sauce
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
MSG (always an option)

Saute the garlic in as little oil as possible until golden brown. Add the pork (cut about 10mmx20mm, oh the technical guy in me!) & cook it over low heat until the pork’s fat comes out but not too much the pork shrinks. Turning the heat from low to medium, add the onion & carrots. Stir-fry. Pour about 2-3 cups of water, & add salt, pepper, soy sauce, MSG & oyster sauce. (Cean’s yaya once told me the secret is the oyster sauce.) Bring to boil. Add the pea pods & cabbage, & set them aside when they’re cooked (crispy & not over-cooked). Over low heat, pour the noodles over the broth. Cook until the water evaporates but never too dry.

Pour the cooked noodles in a platter & topped it w/ the pork & vegetables. You may also add sesame oil if u want a bit of cantonese flavor.

The way you cut your meat reflects the way you live. – Confucius

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.