Chili Garlic Pork Pancit Canton

Chili Garlic Pork Pancit Canton is a Filipino noodle dish made with pork belly, vegetables, chili garlic oil, and plenty of toasted garlic. The noodles cook right in the broth seasoned with soy sauce and oyster sauce, soaking up the flavor as they soften. Most of the toasted garlic gets mixed into the noodles, while the rest goes on top where it stays crisp.

This recipe actually started with a pack of instant pancit canton. One time, I decided to add chili garlic oil and toasted garlic to see how they would taste together. The chili garlic oil gave the noodles a nice kick, while the toasted garlic added more flavor and a little crunch. That simple combination turned out so good that it made me think about trying it with my regular pancit canton recipe. This time, there was pork belly, plenty of vegetables, and the same chili garlic oil and toasted garlic that made the instant noodles so tasty. The result was a much heartier pancit canton with just the right amount of heat and plenty of garlic flavor. It turned out even better than expected, and I’ve been making this version ever since.

The chili garlic oil I use is the one I make at home, with fresh Thai chili and two whole heads of garlic cooked slowly in canola oil. There is almost always a jar of it in our refrigerator because we have it with siomai nearly every week. For this pancit I scoop out three tablespoons with plenty of the chili solids.

What is Chili Garlic Pork Pancit Canton?

This is not instant-noodle spicy, with a chili sachet stirred in at the end. The heat here is cooked in, and the garlic comes twice: as the oil the pork belly is sautéed in, and as the toasted bits that go in near the end. The rest follows my usual way of cooking pancit canton, with dried flour stick noodles, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and vegetables such as green beans, carrots, and cabbage.

It also comes out drier than my saucy pancit canton. The noodles take in all of the broth, and what is left coating them is the garlic oil.

Why This Chili Garlic Pancit Canton Recipe Works

• Toast the garlic on low heat and strain it early. I once got impatient while making chili garlic oil and turned the heat up to medium. The garlic went dark, the oil turned bitter, and the whole batch went in the trash. Golden is done.
• Let the pork fat render before anything else goes in. The water simmers off, and the pork gets a few minutes sizzling in its own fat before the onions. That fat is part of what the noodles absorb later.
• Cook the chili garlic oil, do not just stir it in. Thirty seconds in the hot wok with the pork and onions, chili solids and all, before the soy sauce and oyster sauce. The heat and the garlic end up in the broth instead of sitting on top of the noodles.
• Keep the vegetables from getting too soft. Blanch them first, then add them back when the noodles are almost done. The beans and carrots should still have a little bite when you serve the pancit.

Ingredients

• Flour stick noodles – Dried pancit canton noodles, a 500-gram pack. They go into the wok dry and absorb the broth as they cook, so there is no boiling them separately.
• Pork belly – Slice it thin so it cooks more quickly. The water simmer helps it soften before the noodles go in. If the slices are still chewy, give the pork more time before adding the noodles.
• Long green beans – Sliced diagonally.
• Carrots – Cut into thin strips.
• Cabbage – Chopped. One head looks like a lot, but it shrinks once it is blanched and tossed with the noodles.
• Flat-leaf parsley – Chopped.
• Onion leeks – Thinly sliced, with the white and green parts kept separate. The white part cooks with the onions.
• Red bell pepper – Slice it into thin strips. It only needs a short toss with the noodles near the end, so it still has a little bite.
• Onions – Sliced.
• Garlic – A quarter cup, minced. It looks like a lot on the board and shrinks to a small bowl of toasted bits.
• Chili garlic oil – The chili solids matter as much as the oil, so stir the jar and scoop from the bottom. Homemade is what I use, and a jarred one works if you do not make your own.
• Soy sauce – Goes in with the oyster sauce before the broth.
• Oyster sauce – Gives the noodles a slightly sweet, glossy coat.
• MAGGI Magic Sarap – Gives the dish extra umami flavor and depth.
• Chicken broth – Three cups. The noodles absorb nearly all of it.
• Water – For simmering the pork and for blanching the vegetables.
• Cooking oil – Half a cup, for toasting the garlic. The leftover garlic-infused oil is good drizzled over the finished noodles or kept for another dish.
• Ground black pepper – To taste, at the end.

This is the same toasted garlic that goes on goto and arroz caldo, just made with more oil this time.

1. Heat 1/2 cup cooking oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown.
2. Immediately strain the garlic from the oil. Set the toasted garlic and the garlic-infused oil aside separately.

1. Prepare an ice bath by combining 4 cups of ice and 6 cups of water in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Bring 12 cups of water to a boil in a large cooking pot.
3. Blanch the long green beans, carrots, and cabbage in batches for 35 to 50 seconds.
4. Immediately transfer the vegetables to the ice bath to stop the cooking. After 2 minutes, drain thoroughly and set aside.

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the reserved garlic-infused oil in a large wok or cooking pot.
2. Add the pork belly and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
3. Pour in 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Continue simmering until the water evaporates completely and some of the pork fat renders.
4. Add the sliced onions and the white parts of the onion leeks. Sauté until softened.

1. Add the chili garlic oil, including the chili solids. Stir-fry over medium heat for 30 seconds to release its aroma.
2. Pour in the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir until well combined with the pork.
3. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
4. Continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the pork belly is tender.

1. Add the flour stick noodles. Gently toss until they soften and absorb the seasoned broth. Add a little hot water or additional chicken broth as needed to cook the noodles evenly without drying them out.
2. Taste the noodles, then add the MAGGI Magic Sarap, a little at a time if needed. Toss until evenly distributed.

The noodles are done when they are soft all the way through and the bottom of the wok is nearly dry. Bite a strand from the middle of the pile. If it is still stiff, add a splash of hot water and toss for another minute.

1. Add the chopped parsley, the green parts of the onion leeks, the julienned red bell pepper, and about three-fourths of the toasted garlic. Toss gently to combine.
2. Season with ground black pepper. Return the blanched vegetables to the wok and toss everything together.
3. Continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are heated through and evenly distributed.
4. Transfer the pancit canton to a serving platter. Sprinkle the remaining toasted garlic on top, and drizzle with a little of the reserved garlic-infused oil or additional chili garlic oil if desired.

What to Serve with Chili Garlic Pancit Canton

• Calamansi – Squeeze some over the noodles just before eating. The sourness is especially good with the chili garlic oil.
• Lumpia – The usual partner for pancit at Filipino gatherings.
• Puto – Soft steamed rice cakes to eat alongside the noodles.
• Pinoy Fried Chicken – Crispy fried chicken alongside the noodles makes it a bigger meal.

Storage

• Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Add a splash of water when reheating because the noodles firm up in the refrigerator.
• Freezer: It freezes for up to 2 months in a freezer bag pressed flat. The blanched vegetables come out softer after thawing, and the toasted garlic on top loses its crunch, so freeze the noodles without the garlic topping and toast a fresh batch when it is time to eat.
• Reheating: Heat it in a pan over medium heat with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water, tossing until the noodles loosen and are steaming hot. The microwave works too, covered, in short bursts with a stir in between.

More Pancit Canton Recipes

• Pancit – Bihon and canton cooked together in one wok with pork belly, carrots, and cabbage.
• Pancit Bihon Guisado – The thin rice noodle version, cooked in a seasoned broth with pork, cooked chicken, and vegetables.
• Pancit Canton at Bihon – Bihon and canton cooked together with pork, chicken, and shrimp.
• Shrimp Pancit Canton – The shrimp version of pancit canton.
• Seafood Pancit Canton – Pancit canton loaded with seafood.
• Bagnet Pancit Canton – Pancit canton with shrimp and shiitake mushrooms, topped with slices of crispy bagnet.

• Flour stick noodles – Dried lo mein or chow mein noodles can work, but check their cooking directions. Some need less broth or cook faster than dried pancit canton noodles.
• Pork belly – Thinly sliced pork shoulder also works, although it may need a longer simmer to become tender.
• Chili garlic oil – Plain chili oil with an extra tablespoon of minced garlic sautéed with the onions. Chili flakes fried in the garlic-infused oil for 30 seconds give the heat without the garlic.
• Long green beans – Regular green beans cut into 2-inch pieces, or snow peas. Snow peas only need a 30-second blanch.
• Onion leeks – Green onions. Use the white part with the onions and the green part at the end, the same way.
• MAGGI Magic Sarap – Chicken powder, about 2 teaspoons, or salt to taste.

Chili garlic oil is something we use quite often at home, especially when we have siomai. My kids even put it on plain rice, so it gets used for much more than dipping sauce. It also works really well with pancit canton, especially with plenty of toasted garlic mixed into the noodles. Keep some of that garlic for the topping so you still get a little crunch when you serve the pancit. Have calamansi ready too, because a little sourness goes well with the chili garlic oil.