Summer Vegetable Pancit Canton

[Celerity]

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/782479200-summer-vegetable-pancit-canton

https://archive.ph/nAotk



Pancit is the catch-all term for Filipino noodle dishes of the sort served everywhere from casual cafeteria-style turo-turo counters to big family gatherings. The name comes from the Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) phrase "pian i sit”, meaning “food cooked fast,” and the words that follow tell you what kind of noodles or style to expect. This version, adapted from Nico de Leon, formerly the chef and co-owner of Lasita in Los Angeles, is pancit canton, made with chewy wheat noodles inspired by Chinese stir-fries. It’s a flexible, one-pan dish that comes together quickly and welcomes variation: add shrimp or chicken, or keep it vegetable-forward, as it is here, with a mix of summer produce. As the noodles cook, they soak up a savory, citrusy sauce that lightly coats everything. Serve it as a main or alongside other dishes—and don’t skip the final squeeze of lemon or, if you can find it, calamansi, a small citrus fruit with a bright, floral tartness that falls somewhere between lime and mandarin, which pulls the whole dish into focus.

Ingredients

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

1½ tablespoons cornstarch

½ cup plus 1½ tablespoons water, divided

2 ounces canola, avocado or other high-heat friendly oil

¼ medium red onion, sliced (about 3 ounces/½ cup)

½ pound bell pepper (about 1 large, any color), stemmed, seeded and sliced into ¼-inch strips

1 medium zucchini or summer squash, slices into half moons (about 6 ounces/1 ½ cups)

¼ pound green beans or yellow wax beans, stemmed and cut in half, optional

8 ounces cherry tomatoes (about 1 cup)

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 pound fresh Yakisoba or pancit Canton noodles

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

½ cup soy sauce

2 lemons, one juiced, one sliced into wedges (or substitute calamansi wedges, if you can find them)

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup cilantro leaves and stems, roughly chopped, for serving

½ cup sliced scallion, for serving


Preparation

Step 1
In a small cup or bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 1 ½ tablespoons water to make a slurry. Set aside.

Step 2
Heat a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high and add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the red onion, stirring until slightly blistered, about 30 seconds. Repeat with the bell pepper then zucchini, then beans and lastly the tomatoes and garlic together—after 30 seconds, gently stir in the noodles to avoid bursting the tomatoes.

Step 3
After another 30 seconds of stirring add the red pepper flakes, if using. Pour ½ cup water into the skillet and once heavily steaming, about 1 minute, add the soy sauce, lemon juice and the cornstarch slurry. Turn up the heat to high and stir and toss together until the sauce thickens and glazes everything. Turn off heat and season with salt.

Step 4
Transfer the pancit to a large bowl or platter, then garnish with the cilantro, scallions and wedges of lemon or calamansi. Serve hot.