Pancit Bato

Pancit Bato – The history behind this name has nothing to do with stones. Although its translation means “rock noodles”, it is actually a type of noodles from the town of Bato in Camarines Sur. It is made of flour and heat-dried. It’s been said that this is traditionally done under the sun over stones, but the commercial way of doing it is to use oven or furnace heat.
The dry noodles are shaped into blocks and packaged in plastic. It used to be that only the original pancit bato was available in stores, there are now several varieties or flavors offered for sale like Malunggay, Kalabasa (Squash), and Carrot. These make for tasty choices to satisfy different palates who want to taste something different from the usual pancit bihon and canton fare.

Cooking pancit bato is easy as it is also the same way pancit canton is prepared. It also uses the same ingredients and cooked pretty much with the same steps. The noodles are immersed in hot water until soft. They are then drained of water. After that, the vegetables (chopped carrot, cabbage, etc.), chicken liver, and seasonings are added. When cooked, pancit bato is best served and eaten while hot.

Pancit Bato Recipe

Ingredients:

• ½ kilo Pancit Bato dried noodles
• 2 cups pork, boiled, cut into strips
• 1 cup medium size shrimp, shelled
• ½ head garlic, minced
• 1 medium size onion, chopped
• 1 small size carrot, sliced
• 1 medium size red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 cup sitsaro, snow peas, stringed
• 1 cup green beans, sliced
• 1 cup cabbage, shredded
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• liquid seasoning
• black pepper
• cooking oil
• kalamansi

Cooking Procedures:

1. In a large wok, sauté onion and garlic.
2. Add pork and shrimp stir cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until meat start to sizzle.
3. Add soy sauce, fish sauce and a dash of black pepper and stir cook for 2 to 3 minutes.   
4. Add 8 to 10 cups of broth from boiling of the pork and shrimp shells and heads, let boil and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.   
5. Add in Pancit Bato noodles stir cook for 6 to 10 minutes or until noodles are soft and have absorb most of the broth add more stock if necessary.   
6. Add all the vegetables stir and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are just cooked.   
7. Season to taste with liquid seasoning. Serve with kalamansi. (Recipe source: http://www.kusina101.com/2014/05/pansit-bato-recipe.html)

Image Source: ecarg0918