Noodle Dish: Philippine 'Pansit Canton' Recipe Day 2

Philippine 'Pansit'

The  Interview With Animals
http://juneroca.com/animals/5556-2/ 

Please Refer to this Blog for context:

http://foodandnutritionjunejourneytolife.blogspot.com/2012/10/who-am-i-within-my-choice-of-food-day-1.html

In this blog i am talking about a noodle dish which i grew up with in the Philippines.

I ate this 'Pansit' dish during the first 20 yrs of my life. 

It is made of flour noodles, we call this particular noodle, 'canton noodles', This noodle has a lot of texture so i do not overcook the noodles - because  when i overcook it or put a lot of water in it , i turn it into a wheat porridge - or a flour and water lump.

When cooking Pansit Canton:

I heat a wok on top of the stove

I put about 2-3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

I saute 3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 medium sliced white onion and finely chopped ginger 

(I start with 1 Tablespoon and add more according to how i prefer the taste to be - for my particular taste preference, i use about 3 Tablespoon minced ginger)

Then, i add about 3 cup of veggies:

  - cabbage sliced thinly

  - green beans sliced thinly with ends removed

  - red bell pepper sliced in strips, deseeded

  - thinly sliced carrots

  - sugar snap peas, ends removed

I add soy sauce to taste (start with 1 Tablespoon and add more if needed)

I add a pinch of salt and add as i adjust the taste according to my preference  

I add a pinch of ground black pepper and add as i taste according to my preference  

I add 1 tsp sesame oil 

I add about a cup of water or soupstock and adjust according to whether i want the noodle dish to be       'soupy' ( i add more water or soupstock) or dry ( I see if the 1 cup of water or soupstock is enough or i add more if i can see it is too dry)

Then, i prepare the flour noodles by washing them in running water and draining it - about 2 x 227 grams pack , stirring with a ladle mix all the ingredients to stop the noodles sticking to the bottom  of the wok.(some just put the canton noodles in the wok but i wash the noodle dish so there's not much noodles jumping out of the wok, and also for the dish to not dry out)

Then, i add the fried tofu or sauteed mushroom or both

Note: Email me to get a recipe you can print at juneequals@gmail.com

Soupstock:

For a Vegetarian Noodle Dish:

I add 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast for a cup of water

For a Meat Noodle  Dish:

I add 1 chicken bullion to 1 cup of water or boil 1 chicken breast with 2 cups water and get the soup stock from the boiled chicken

The Meat Part

For a Vegetarian Noodle Dish

I add 1 pack tofu (fried, cubed in 1/2 inch pcs)

And/OR

6 sauteed big white mushrooms sliced into bite size pcs

For a  Meat Noodle  Dish

I add about 1/2 cup of sauteed pork belly sliced thinly or sauteed shrimp sliced in half 

and a cup of sliced chicken breast from the chicken breast i boiled 

Let's look at this ingredients in the 'Philippine Pansit' Dish:

The 'canton noodles or flour noodles'..

The Wheat flour noodles 

I know that the canton noodles is made from flour but in my eating the dish for more than 20 yrs i was 'unaware' of how that flour noodle reached my table. I was not interested back then, i was only interested in how it tasted because that is what will make me full , and when i am full and the taste of the dish is good, i will be 'happy'.

Why this 'unawareness'?

I ate the dish from a starting point of, 'i want food that will make me feel 'happy and content' - where i am getting a 'positive experience' from eating the dish. I did not walk back and look at the origin of where the flour came from and how much labour was put into making this noodles. No one ever cared to know. My mom just asked me what i like to eat and she cooked it for me so i ate it. 

I was aware that the flour came from the earth - but was 'UNAWARE' that it was made from the same substance - the earth is made of, that nature is made of - that all are made of.

So i will do self-forgiveness for being 'unaware' of that point of equality and who i have become within  my eating this dish.

Self-forgiveness and commitment to Correction

I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to be unaware of where the noodles or the food that i eat come from and how it reached the table - where i do not educate myself on how this current system works - the system which i support within my choice of food. So, when and as i see myself eating being 'unaware' of where the food i eat come from - its origin - i stop - i breathe and change my starting point - from separation from the food i eat to educating myself about the food i eat - bringing it here within and as myself and standing equal to the food - and looking at how the body 'experienced the food' - rather than just using food to get a positive energy experience from eating it.

I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to like to eat 'pansit' - which is like chow mien - believing that getting the noodles from the plate to inside my mouth is fun, as that experience of having something hang on to the fork gives me more time to savor the 'happiness' or positive energy experience i get from eating it. So to assist myself to when i see myself getting a positive experience out of getting the noodles from the plate to my mouth and prolonging the 'happiness experience' - i stop participating within my mind as the 'food is happiness' mind character. I breathe. I bring myself back here and enjoy the taste and texture of the 'pansit noodles' without connecting it to a 'positive energy experience' as the 'food is happiness' mind character.

I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to have a memory of that mild sweet and sour taste that makes me connect it with the Philippines and the memories i have in the Philippines - eating with the rest of my family and my friends - giving me a 'positive energy experience' of the dish. I commit myself to instead of connecting the 'pansit canton' to memories i have in the Philippines - i stop accessing memories from the 'past' within my mind - i bring myself back here and enjoy the taste and texture of the 'pancit canton' and food i eat here as the breath in every moment.

I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to like to eat raw 'pansit' believing that the kelp noodles that i use are better than the flour noodles because they feel light in the stomach and is made from kelp - which is a seaweed - believing that seaweeds are more nutritious than wheat. So i commit myself to instead of comparing the kelp noodles with the flour noodles, to when and as i am eating the raw kelp noodle dish, - i stop going within my mind and accessing memories of when i ate a cooked pancit canton dish, and comparing it to the kelp noodles - to bring myself back here eating in awareness of who i am equal to the expression of the kelp noodles and the food i eat