Shrimp pancit
Filipino pancit bihon: thin rice noodles tossed with shrimp, cabbage and carrots in a savory soy and garlic sauce, a dish made for sharing.
- 40 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.39 a serving
- 370 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 8 oz rice noodles
- 8 oz frozen raw shrimp, thawed, peeled and patted dry
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
- 3 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube
- 2 green onions, sliced
- ½ lemon, cut into wedges
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 1½ cups water
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 370 calories, 18 g protein, 57 g carbs and 8 g fat, and costs about $2.39 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green cabbage? Red cabbage or coleslaw mix works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Soak the noodles in warm water for 10 minutes, until bendy, then .
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Timer: 10 min
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large or wok over medium-high heat. Cook the shrimp 1 to 2 minutes per side, until pink and opaque, then move them to a plate.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Food safety: Shrimp are done when they turn pink and opaque all the way through and curl into a loose C. A tight O means overcooked, not unsafe.
Add the rest of the oil, the onion and garlic and cook 2 minutes, until soft.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min
Add the carrot and cabbage and -fry 2 minutes, until just .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min
Pour in the water, in the bouillon cube, add the soy sauce and pepper and .
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Add the noodles and with tongs for 3 to 4 minutes, until they soak up the liquid and turn tender.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Keep tossing. The noodles drink the broth fast, and if they’re still firm when it’s gone, add a splash of water.Return the shrimp, once more and scatter the green onions over. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Tuna macaroni salad
30 min
Tortang tuna (Filipino tuna omelette)
40 min
Fish sarciado (Filipino fish in tomato and egg sauce)
45 min
Shrimp and broccoli
35 min
Easy Filipino dinner recipes ›Pescatarian dinners ›What to make with carrots and green cabbage ›