Sotanghon Guisado

Sotanghon Guisado – Sotanghon is the Filipino name for glass noodle (also bean thread noodles). While ‘gisado‘ mean sauteed. Some people call this dish just Sotanghon but then they also call another soupy dish with this type of noodles of the same name. 

Sotanghon Guisado Recipe

Ingredients:

500 g  boneless chicken meat – sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
200 g  sotanghon (beanthread or glass noodles)
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 medium onion – sliced
1 Tbsp patis (fish sauce)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock + 1/4 cup extra
4 dried shiitake mushrooms (or woodears/black fungus)
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/4 cup chopped Chinese parsley or kinchay (or flatleaf parsley)
1 Tbsp annatto seeds or 1/2 tsp annatto powder (also called achuete or achiote)
1/3 cup hot water
2 green onions – chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Procedure:

1. Soak sotanghon in water until soft (about 20 minutes). Drain and cut into desired lengths.
2. Mix annatto seeds with the 1/3 cup hot water. Let stand for about 20 minutes. Mix and mash with fingers to extract red dye from the annatto and mix in with the water. Strain and discard annatto seeds. (If using annatto powder, just mix it with the water.)
3. Pour enough hot water on the dried shiitake mushrooms enough to cover it. Soak for 20 minutes or until soft. Drain and squeeze excess water from mushrooms. Cut off stems and discard. Slice mushrooms thinly.
4. Heat oil in a wok. Saute garlic and onion.
5. Add chicken meat and patis; saute for awhile.
6. Add 1/4 cup chicken stock and simmer in medium heat until chicken is just cooked (about 10-15 minutes). Let it dry out a little.
7. Add chicken stock and annatto water; bring to boil. Stir in carrots, mushrooms and parsley. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
8. Add in sotanghon noodles, mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until noodles is soft and cooked through. Put in salt and pepper according to your taste. Garnish with chopped green onions. Dish up and serve. (There will be some sauce left at this end stage. Don’t worry, it will all be absorbed by the noodles as it cools down.)