A taste of Filipino cuisine in every bite, Pancit Sotanghon Guisado is excellent for an afternoon snack or as a main dish. Flavor-packed cellophane noodles with bits of meat, mushroom, and vegetables — try and judge for yourself!
If you’ve just discovered Filipino pancit, you must try pancit bihon and pancit canton — arguably two of the most famous noodle dishes in the Philippines.
But hey, sotanghon guisado is up there at the top as well. 🙂
So, what is pancit sotanghon guisado?
It’s a Filipino noodle dish with sotanghon (or bean thread noodles) as its main ingredient.
Like bihon guisado, pancit sotanghon is also ‘sauteed’ with some vegetables and meat — seasoned with fish sauce.
Although it’s common to enjoy for a snack, sotanghon guisado is generally served as a main dish.
Delicious and filling, you will surely ask for seconds.
Oh! If you prefer it as soup, check out chicken sotanghon soup instead!
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Ingredients
- Chicken – as you can see above, I use chicken breast for making this pancit sotanghon guisado.
- Sotanghon noodles – also called bean thread or cellophane noodles.
- Achuete seeds – also known as ‘annatto‘ or ‘achiote‘ seeds in South American and Caribbean cuisines.
- Oil – skip the olive oil and use canola or sunflower oil for preparing sotanghon guisado.
- Vegetables – garlic, onion, carrot, celery, and snap peas.
- Cloud ear mushrooms – called in the Philippines as ‘tengang daga‘ because it resembles a rat’s ear — and you can easily find them in any Asian supermarket.
- Seasonings – fish sauce, pepper, and salt.
Preparation
Start making pancit sotanghon guisado by cooking the meat.
Combine the chicken breast with two and a half cups of water in a medium saucepan.
Season with salt, cover with a lid, and boil.
Simmer until the meat is cooked. (Do not throw the water away after cooking!)
Combine the achuete seeds with a quarter cup of hot water, then set aside.
Place the sotanghon noodles in a bowl of room-temperature water. Make sure the noodles are fully submerged to soften them.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, use your hands to pull the meat from the skin and bones — try to keep them almost the same size as the vegetables.
Use your fingers to rub the achuete seeds, turning the water orange-reddish.
Place a wok (or skillet) over medium-high heat.
Add and heat the oil.
Once the oil is ready, add garlic and onion.
Saute until the onion softens.
Add the chopped carrot and celery.
Mix, and let cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the meat, chopped mushrooms, and snap peas, then combine.
Use a strainer to pour the achuete water, then add a three-quarters cup of the water from cooking the meat earlier.
Cover with a lid and bring to a quick boil.
Use a colander to drain the sotanghon.
Uncover the wok, taste, and season with fish sauce and pepper.
Add the drained noodles.
Mix to combine everything evenly and keep mixing until the sotanghon is cooked.
Transfer your pancit sotanghon guisado into plates and garnish with chopped green onions, if desired.
Serve with calamansi or lemon slices — enjoy!
Helpful tips
- When cooking the chicken for your sotanghon guisado, do not add too much water — just enough to submerge the meat.
- Remove the white stuff that floats on top when cooking the meat.
- Do not forget to cut the noodles into shorter strands before adding them to the wok — you need to use a pair of kitchen scissors to do this.
Recipe variation
- Other chicken parts. Thighs or legs are also commonly used instead of breast — but still with the bone and skin on.
- Pork. Some locals prefer thinly sliced pork or a combination of pork and chicken.
- Cabbage. If you want more greens in your sotanghon guisado, thinly sliced cabbage is what you need to add.
How to serve pancit sotanghon?
With slices of calamansi or lemon, for sure!
You need that squeeze of acid in there to complement the saltiness and overall flavor of your sotanghon guisado.
To complete the local experience, serve some pandesal (Filipino bread rolls) with it. Absolutely yummy.
So, give this pancit sotanghon guisado recipe a try this weekend —- you will not regret it! :-.)
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📖 Recipe
Pancit Sotanghon Guisado Recipe
Equipment
- Medium-Sized Saucepan
Ingredients
- 1/2 piece chicken breast, with skin and bones
- 100 grams sotanghon noodles (abour 3.50 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon achuete seeds (annatto)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
- 1 small onion, sliced thinly
- 1 small carrot, julienned
- 1 stalk celery, chopped thinly
- 15 to 20 pieces snap peas, chopped
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup cloud ear mushrooms (tengang daga), rehydrated and chopped roughly
- 2 to 3 teaspoons fish sauce
- salt and pepper
- green onions, chopped (optional for serving)
Instructions
- Combine the chicken breast with 2 & 1/2 cups of water in a medium saucepan.
- Season with salt, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil.
- Simmer until the meat is cooked — and do not throw the water away after cooking.
- Combine the achuete seeds with a 1/4 cup of hot water, then set aside.
- Place the sotanghon noodles in a bowl of room-temperature water. (NOTE: Ensure the noodles are fully submerged to soften them.)
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, use your hands to pull the meat from the skin and bones — try to keep them almost the same size as the vegetables.
- Use your fingers to rub the achuete seeds together, turning their water into orange-reddish color, then set it aside.
- Place a wok (or skillet) over medium-high heat.
- Add and heat the oil.
- Once the oil is ready, add garlic, onion, and sauté until they soften.
- Add the chopped carrot and celery and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the meat, chopped mushrooms, and snap peas, then combine.
- Use a strainer to pour the achuete water into the wok.
- Add 3/4 cup of the water from cooking the meat earlier.
- Cover with a lid and bring to a quick boil.
- Use a colander or strainer to drain the sotanghon.
- Uncover the wok, taste, and season with fish sauce and pepper.
- Add the drained sotanghon and mix to combine everything evenly — keep mixing until the noodles are cooked.
- Transfer your pancit sotanghon guisado into plates and garnish with chopped green onions, if desired.
- Serve with calamansi or lemon slices — enjoy!
Notes
- Cook’s Tip #1: Do not add too much water when cooking the chicken — it should be just enough to submerge the meat.
- Cook’s Tip #2: Remove the white stuff that floats on top when boiling the chicken.
- Cook’s Tip #3: Remember to cut the noodles into shorter strands before adding them to the wok — using a pair of kitchen scissors will make it easier.
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