Book

Cora Cooks Pancit
​​​​by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore

Cora loved the smells of Mama’s kitchen, but she longed to be a real cook of Filipino dishes too. Mama gave Cora an apron that belonged to Lolo, her grandpa, and together they made Pancit.

Sit down with Cora’s family and enjoy a steaming platter of Cora's Pancit, special Lumpia, and a bowl of Pineapple Slices.

Cook

Cora's Pancit

Complexity: Many ingredients and several steps and cooking methods.
Time: 1-4 hours cooking, depending on method for cooking chicken.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds boned chicken plus 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon soy sauce or 3 boneless chicken breasts plus ½ cup chicken broth and 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 8 oz package rice stick pancit noodles
  • 1 8 oz package dried sthiitake mushrooms
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped and peeled
  • 1 tablespoon plus ¼ cup vegetable or olive oil
  • ½ head cabbage, shredded
  • 2 carrots, thinly sliced
  • 3 celery stalks, sliced
  • 1 8 oz can water chestnuts, sliced
  • 1 8 oz can bamboo shoots
  • 1 8 oz can baby corn, diced
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 3 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
  • 5 scallions, sliced lengthwise and cut into strips
  • salt and pepper 

Directions

  1. Steam boned chicken in large pot with water and 1 teaspoon soy sauce for 25 minutes. Alternatively, cook boneless chicken breasts, chicken broth, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in crock pot or slow cooker on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours. Cool chicken and shred.
  2. Soak noodles in warm water for approximately 30 minutes. Soak mushrooms in separate bowl of warm water for 30 minutes. 
  3. Strain mushrooms. Heat chicken, mushrooms, yellow onion, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce in a non-stick skillet.
  4. Stir in garlic and ginger. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  5. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large pot. 
  6. Add cabbage, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and baby corn. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
  7. Cook briefly, making sure the cabbage and carrots maintain some of their crispness. 
  8. Add chicken and mushroom mixture. 
  9. Strain noodles. 
  10. In a separate pot, bring 1 ½ cups water, ¼ cup oil, ¼ cup soy sauce, and a dash of salt to a light boil. 
  11. Add noodles and stir. Cook 5 minutes. 
  12. Pour noodles into the chicken and vegetable mixture. mix everything together and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. 
  13. Garnish with sliced hard-boiled eggs and green onions. 

Cook

Pineapple Slices

Complexity: Easy, just slice up the pineapple. 
Time: 5 minutes.

Ingredients

  • A pineapple. To select a pineapple, pull on one of its leaves. Its leaves should pull out quite easily if it is ripe. They should still look deep green, not browned or shriveled, which indicates an overripe pineapple.

Directions

  1. Slice off the top and bottom of the pineapple, and then slice the sides off vertically. Cut in half lengthwise, and then set on its side to slice.

Cook

Lumpia

Complexity: Complex, involves lots of prep and deep frying.
Time: 45 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs
  • 2-1/2 lb. ground pork
  • 1/2 cup minced carrot
  • 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
  • 2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 6 tablespoons whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce; more as needed
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 12-oz. (25-count) package frozen 8-inch-square spring roll wrappers, thawed overnight in the refrigerator
  • 6 cups soybean or canola oil; more or less as needed

Directions

  1. Beat one of the eggs in a small bowl and set aside. Beat the remaining two eggs in a large bowl. Add the ground pork, carrot, onion, garlic, milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; using your hands or a silicone spatula, mix gently and thoroughly.
  2. Keeping the wrappers covered with a damp kitchen towel, carefully peel one wrapper from the stack and place it on a clean work surface. Place five tablespoonfuls of the filling (about 3 oz. total) in a row about 1½ inches from the edge of the wrapper closest to you.
  3. Fold the wrapper over the filling and, using the wrapper as a guide, pull the filling back toward you, applying light pressure with your fingers so the filling spreads all the way to the ends. Snugly roll the wrapper around the filling away from you until there’s 1 inch of exposed wrapper left. Brush the exposed wrapper with the beaten egg 3 and roll up the rest of the way. Arrange seam side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and cover with a damp towel while you repeat the process with the remaining filling and wrappers.
  4. Pour enough oil into a 12-inch heavy-duty skillet to reach a depth of 3/4 inch. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the skillet and heat over medium-high heat to 350°F. Using your hands or tongs, carefully add 3 or 4 lumpia to the oil and fry, rolling occasionally with tongs, until golden brown and the filling is cooked through (remove one and cut into it to check), about 5 minutes; the oil may pop and splatter, so use a splatter screen if you have one.
  5. Remove the lumpia from the oil with the tongs, letting most of the oil drain back into the skillet, and transfer to a paper-towel-lined tray to drain; repeat with the remaining lumpia.
  6. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the lumpia crosswise into thirds, pile onto a platter, and serve with the dipping sauce.

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