Pancit and Lumpia

This Filipino meal of stir-fried noodles and spring rolls is the perfect ending to a stressful day. The stir-fry looks so festive with the brightly colored vegetables and the tender meat and shrimp. Stir fries only take a few minutes to come together, which makes them perfect for week-day meals. Crispy golden-brown rolls with a succulent filling are one of my favorite foods of all time.

Ingredients

Pancit Guisado:

4 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
1 cup boiled pork, shredded
1 cup boiled chicken, diced
1/3 cup medium boiled shrimp
1 onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, shaved
4 celery stalks, shaved
3 scallions, chopped
1/4 head of cabbage, shredded
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 cup chicken stock, divided
3/8 cup soy sauce, divided
teaspoon oyster sauce
1/2 lb rice stick noodles
2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper

Garnish:
chopped scallions
hardboiled egg
lemon wedges

Lumpia:

3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/2 pound ground pork
handful of medium shrimp, chopped
3 dried shitake mushrooms, reconstituted and chopped
1 carrot, shaved
2 scallions, minced
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons chicken stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
wonton wrappers
oil for deep-frying

Instructions
for pansit:
Note: When using store-bought chicken stock, I like to add some flavors to it before use. In this case, I combined chicken stock with some roughly chopped scallions and celery. I also cut up a bit of fresh ginger and added a splash of rice wine. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for an hour.

Cook noodles according to package direction. In a wok, saute onion and garlic in 3 tablespoons of sesame oil for three minutes. Add the remaining vegetables, scallions, and parsley. Stir in 1/8 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup chicken stock, oyster sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. When vegetables are soft, add the noodles and the remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 chicken stock, a tablespoon of sesame oil, and lemon juice. Adjust seasoning to taste. Garnish noodles with chopped scallions, hardboiled egg, and lemon wedges for serving.

for lumpia:
Note: I used packaged wonton wrappers, but these would be even better with homemade wrappers or even packaged lumpia wrappers

Heat canola oil in a large skillet, and saute onion, garlic, and scallions until the onion is translucent. Add the pork and shrimp, and cook for about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and carrot. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, sugar, chicken stock and soy sauce. Continue cooking until the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Set the mixture aside to cool.

When mixture is cool, fill and roll the wonton wrappers. Deep fry in oil at 350 degrees for about 6 minutes, or until the wrapper is golden brown.

These rolls taste particularly good with a garlicky soy and vinegar dipping sauce. Combine some vinegar (white wine or apple cider work well) with soy sauce and stir, and add garlic powder or minced garlic. Finish the sauce with red pepper flakes or chili powder if you like spicy food.