I miss Big Momma Bee. I hate that she has to do live-in work and I’d much rather prefer that she be at home. She was pretty much a stay at home Momma Bee while I was in junior high and high school. It’d be nice to have her home so she could cook all the boring Daddy Bee foods for them and I could work on my fun foods. Or If I do decide to cook, she would split the work with me and wash the dishes. Daddy Bee did dishes for three days and then started to complain about his hands being all dry from washing. It’s not fun when you have to cook AND wash everything by hand in a sink that’s falling apart.

Last night, Daddy Bee requested that I make pancit today. So after I picked up my new specs and made a few inquiries to starting a farmer’s market business. Also I dropped off cookie dough truffles to some guys I met the other day and got some really good compliments. It’s definitely boosting my self esteem.

I came back home and felt totally bushed, but immediately got to work on the pancit. I was already defrosting a package of chicken and then put into a pot with water, salt and two bay leaves to cook. While that went on, I washed a bunch of dishes while listening to my Tina Turner Pandora Radio station, unleashing my inner drag queen. After the dishes were done, I set to chopping the garlic, onions, carrots and cabbage. When Private Dancer (halfway through cutting the carrots) came on, I remembered that I had forgotten to put the vermicelli into water to soak so with a flashdance-y turn, I went and did what needed to be done.

Note to self: Do not dance while chopping.

By then the chicken was cooked. I pulled it out and let it sit for a little bit to cool. While it was cooling, I cooked the shrimp in the chicken broth. I’m not entirely sure if there’s crosscontamination happening there (thanks Microbiology class!) but the book told me to do it, so I did it. I set aside the cooked shrimp and then went on to remove the chicken from its bones and and chop it into small pieces. However, it was not cool enough so I… singed my fingers. I should have slowed down a bit, but Daddy Bee said he hadn’t eaten yet and I felt the pressure.

*I’m watching Daddy Bee put saran wrap over the bowl of leftovers… he almost dropped Momma Bee’s vintage pyrex.*

Now comes the easy part. I drained the noodles and cut it up into smaller strands (that’s how Daddy Bee likes it) and then heated our wok with some canola oil and sauteed the garlic and onions. I added a bit of salt and pepper and then added the chicken and some Patis and then sauteed it some more. I wanted to do that cool flippy thing that I’ve seen chefs do on TV, but pfft…. not even gonna attempt that.  Then the broth from the chicken is poured in (I really hope you didn’t get rid of that). Then the carrots, cabbage, cooked shrimp and noodles were added. I stirred that sucker really well (while dancing like Gru to “You Should Be Dancing” by the Bee Gees), adding a bit more broth if the noodles looked dry. Dad says I should have made the veggies “well done,” but Dad likes them hella soft.

Then I sang The Best by Tina Turner (my favorite Tina song) while I put some of it into a large and pretty bowl, took a picture and plated it up with a slice of lemon. I’m proud to say I know more of the words to the song than Roger Federer did when he sang it at Roland Garros.

Once I ate my plate of Pancit and I set about to typing this entry. I had to get up for something and when I came back, I had noticed that Daddy Bee ate THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THE BOWL!!! minus what I had. I scolded him and then went about my business. I really need to learn how to split that recipe so it’s not party sized. We’ll be eating pancit for days. And I’m not really a fan of it. Great.
Pancit Recipe
– 1 package chicken (I used thighs, but I’m sure you could use whatever bit you wanted, though if you used boneless chicken breast, I’d probably add chicken stock or bullion cubes or whatever they’re called
– 4 medium-ish carrots julliened (or as close to a julliene as you can get, in my case)
– 1/2 of a small cabbage (I think I should have used all of it to be honest), finely shredded
– 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
– 3 cloves garlic, minced
– 12 oz shrimp peeled, deveined, and I removed the tails.
– Black Pepper
– Salt
– Patis (fish sauce)
– Lemon
– 2 bay leaves
– 1 package rice vermicelli noodles (I forgot it again!)

Directions:
Place chicken in a pot, cover with water, add salt and the bay leaves. Bring to boil and thn simmer for 30 minutes. Then remove chicken from broth and allow to cool. Remove meat from bones and then cut into small pieces. Set aside.

Cook shrimp in same broth, adding some patis. Remove from pot and also set aside.

In a large skillet (or a wok. I like woks. LARGE WOK) saute garlic and onions in hot oil. Add chicken and some more patis and saute more. Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and then simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the cabbage and carrots and shrimp and then reduce the heat. Add the noodles and stir. Add more broth if the mix is too dry. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Serve with lemon and more pepper and patis. Makes too much for two people 8-10 servings.