Pancit Guisado

To be fair, I visited the Philippines only once and it was long ago, but I distinctly remember being unimpressed with the food.

I was still in the college mode where food was for sustenance or seduction, never for its own sake. Take me with a grain of salt; food just wasn't something I cared about except for what it could do for me.

Yet even I could tell that what I was eating in Manila wasn't all that special. There were two notable exceptions: finger bananas and pancit, the latter quickly becoming a daily craving during my trip.

Pancit is like the fried rice of the Philippines, a dish into which any and all leftovers can be added. Egg noodles are boiled then pan fried and tossed with vegetables and meats. The variation known as pancit guisado combines prawns, shredded chicken, sliced chorizo and cabbage. It's hearty enough to function as a single-course meal, every bite a different flavor.

Pancit single-handedly redeemed Filipino cuisine in my eyes, helping me to get beyond short-sighted first impressions and to give it a second chance. Since then I've learned that my poor initial experience was because my hosts cared even less about food than I did, and that there is plenty to explore and discover. Now I just need to figure out how to get back to Manila.

Related:
→ Pancit guisado recipes via Google
→ Fried rice recipes
→ Filipino Adobo Chicken