What do you do with the water in which you have soaked dried mushrooms? Throw it away? Don’t. It has just as much flavor as the mushrooms themselves. Just get a clean cheesecloth (katsa, or any similar fabric), fold it in half, and set over a bowl. Strain mushroom soaking water with the cloth. Use strained liquid for cooking. That’s the secret for this noodle dish.
Egg noodles are available fresh or dried in several shapes and sizes–flat, fine, thin or thick. Fresh egg noodles in the Philippines are very salty and, expect when cooking pancit miki-bihon, I stay away from them. And when I do use fresh egg noodles, I omit the salt altogether.
In cooking chinese-style noodle dishes, one of the most popular choices is pancit canton, the kind that is wrapped in cellophane. While pancit canton is good for certain recipes, other varieties are better choices for other kinds of dishes. Pancit canton is oily and tends to get soggy when reheated. Try using other varieties of egg noodles. The “straight” ones (much like italian spaghetti and fetuccini but shorter) do not contain much salt or oil; adjusting seasonings is more under your control. I used flat egg noodles for this dish.
Ingredients :
250 g. of oriental egg noodles (flat variety)
150 g. of liempo (pork belly), diced
1 small carrot, julienned
1 bunch of sibuyas na mura (onion leaves)
1/2 c. of dried, or 1 c. of fresh, mushrooms (black chinese variety, abalone or oyster)
1 tbsp. of minced garlic
1 onion, diced
1/8 c. of dark soy sauce
3 tbsp. of oyster sauce
2 c. of mushroom soaking water (or meat broth if using fresh mushrooms)
1 tbsp. of cornstarch
1 tbsp. of cooking oil
1/2 tsp. of sesame seed oil
ground pepper
salt (optional)
How to :
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Slice the mushrooms.
Heat a heavy skillet or wok. Pour oil and heat to smoking point. Sprinkle salt over diced pork (this is optional, as too muc salt at this stage may make the fisnished dish too salty). Stir-fry diced liempo until quite brown and texture is almost like chicharon (pork cracklings). Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.
Reheat oil. Saute garlic and onion. Cook for about 30 seconds, then add julienned carrots. Meanwhile mix together mushroom soaking water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch and ground pepper. Pour into skillet or wok and stir until liquid is no longer cloudy. Add noodles to the skillet; return pork. Drizzle sesame seed oil. Toss everything to distribute ingredients evenly and to coat noodles with sauce, about 1 minute.
Serve hot with sliced kalamansi (native lemon).
Notes:
Soak dried mushrooms in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.
Hello Ms Connie,
Just want to ask when should I add the mushroom in this recipe? Or is the mushroom already included in the soaking water and soy sauce? Sorry I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like the mushroom was missed out from the recipe
I edited it, Precy. Old, old entry. Wasn’t even aware of the carelessness.