Bam-i

Bam-i

In Visayas region of Phil, we call this dish Bam-i, but for Northern part of Philippines, they call it pansit. Whatever we call it, it doesn’t matter the fact is this is a very common dish in my country. Be it an ordinary dinner, indoor or outdoor party or picnic, Bam-i is almost present among the dishes.

Bam-i is made of 2 kinds of noodles, egg noodles and vermicelli noodles or sotanghon stir fried with meat and vegetables. Vegetables may vary depending on what we have at hand. Now, I’m not in Phil., but I’m missing this dish and I have to settle what I have in my kitchen.

One thing very essential in preparing this dish is timing. The noodles and vegetables should cook together. The noodles get easily overcooked they tend to stick to the pan. To avoid this, I came up with another way of doing it by blanching the noodles in a boiling stock to get rid of extra starch. This will prevent the noodles from sticking together.

Ingredients:
2 large onions (finely sliced)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
2 Tablespoons oil
2 chicken breasts (sliced in strips)
1 red bell pepper (sliced in long strips)
1 green bell pepper (sliced in long strips)
2 cups shredded cabbage
6 Tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 liter stock or water
2 Tablespoons freshly ground pepper
1 pack egg noodles
½ pack vermicelli noodles or sotanghon

Procedure:

1. Prepare a wok or pan and casserole.
2. In the pan, sauté garlic and onions in 2 Tablespoons oil until translucent.
3. Add chicken breasts and cook until done; add peppers, oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce.
4. Meanwhile, at the same time, in another casserole, bring to boil 1 liter of stock or water. Blanch shredded cabbage for 1 minute and add to the other pan.

5. Add vermicelli noodles to the boiling stock and cook until just done. Using a slotted spoon, drain the noodles leaving excess starch and water, add noodles directly to the sautéed garlic, onion and chicken stirring occasionally.

6.Add the egg noodles to the boiling stock in the casserole and cook for 2 minutes until just done. Drain egg noodles and add to the pan with vermicelli noodles. Mix vigorously cooking in a moderate fire. Add a ladle of stock to the pan and toss everything to combine all the flavors. Add freshly ground black pepper.