Tossed Rice Noodles

Call me weird, but I have "staple food" in the restaurants/food outlets I frequent. If it were a new restaurant I'd be adventurous and try new things, but if it were McDonald's I'd have nuggets and fries; Sbarro--Spinach and Mushroom Pizza and Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce; TOSH--Pesto with Grilled Chicken on Spaghetti; Teriyaki Boy--Agedashi Tofu, Yasai Itame and Futo Maki; and at Luk Yuen--Seafood Roll, Beef with Kangkong, Deepfried Tofu and Tossed Rice Noodles.

The first time I was served Tossed Rice Noodles (at Luk Yuen Magallanes), I was intrigued. It looked like a pale, Chinese version of our Pancit Malabon. I was skeptical, thinking it'd taste the way it looked.

I was wrong. The dish was an interesting interplay of flavors of char siu (chinese barbecue), chinese mushroom, sesame oil, shrimp and celery. I was hooked.

Since then I've tried to replicate the dish in my kitchen. The problem however, was finding char siu. So I substituted -- with smoked octopus (for the smoked, roast flavor) and bacon.

The result isn't an exact replica of the real thing, but close nonetheless and something worth the effort. :)

TOSSED RICE NOODLES

What's In It?

200g. Rice Noodles (Q Pancit Palabok)
1 egg
100g. honeycured bacon
50g. smoked octopus (optional)
100g. medium prawns, shelled and deveined
5-6 pcs. dried chinese mushroom, soaked, softened and cut into thin strips
1 small carrot, peeled and julienned
1 chayote fruit, peeled and julienned
1 small bell pepper, julienned
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large red onion, peeled and sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup cooking oil
a pinch each of salt and pepper
5 teaspoons fish sauce

Kitchen Conjugations:

1. Soak rice noodles in tap water for 15 minutes.
2. Meantime, make a thin omelette of the egg. Remove from fire and cut into strips. Set aside.
3. Fry bacon into crisps, then cut into 1/2" strips.
4. Cook rice noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.
5. Heat cooking oil in a wok or deep pan. Saute onions and garlic.
6. Stir in carrots, bell pepper, mushroom, chayote and celery. Season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
7. Add in cooked rice noodles. Season with fish sauce and stir fry for another 30 seconds.
8. Toss in egg strips, bacon and smoked octopus. Add a dash of sesame oil then stir fry for half a minute.
9. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and minced green onions if desired. Serve hot.

Happy Eating! :)