Pancit Habhab

Ingredients

• 400 g dried miki Lucban noodles, or dried flour-based pancit canton
• 200 g pork belly, cut into thin strips
• 150 g pork liver, thinly sliced
• 1 chayote (sayote), peeled and julienned
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 100 g green beans, sliced on the diagonal
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 onion, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 3 cups pork or chicken broth
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• Banana leaves, cut into 20 cm squares
• Spiced coconut vinegar, to serve

Before you cook

• Cut the chayote, carrot and beans into even matchsticks so they cook at the same rate.
• Slice the pork belly and liver thinly and keep them on separate plates.
• Warm the broth in a small pan and keep it hot.
• Pass the banana leaf squares over a flame until glossy, then wipe them clean.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a large wok or wide pan over high heat until it shimmers.
2. Add the pork belly strips and stir-fry them for 5 minutes until the fat is translucent and the edges are crisp.
3. Throw in the garlic and onion and fry for 2 minutes until fragrant.
4. Slide in the liver slices and stir-fry them for 90 seconds only, until they lose their raw colour.
5. Scoop about half the pork and all the liver out onto a plate to stop them overcooking.
6. Add the chayote, carrot and green beans to the wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes until they brighten.
7. Pour in the hot broth, soy sauce and oyster sauce and bring it to a hard boil.
8. Add the dried noodles and press them down into the liquid.
9. Cook the noodles for 6 to 8 minutes, lifting and turning them with tongs, until they have drunk almost all the broth and turned glossy.
10. Fold the cabbage and the reserved pork and liver back through the noodles.
11. Cook for a final 2 minutes so the cabbage wilts but still has a bite.
12. Grind over the black pepper and check the seasoning.
13. Pile a portion onto each banana leaf square and serve with a bowl of spiced vinegar for splashing over.