Note: I just had pancit for my nth birthday today. So I decided to write about it.

It has been a family tradition to have Pancit in every celebration – from birthdays to Halloween parties. Mind you, there are varieties of Pancit out there to choose from – bihon, canton, sotanghon, malabon, and recently the cup variety. Pancit in Hokkien is “pian i sit” which means “something conveniently cooked fast”. In the past, it would take us at least an hour to prepare the dish. But the advent of instant noodles changed the way we look at it. The dish lived up to its reputation as something easy to prepare. In fact, it’s just one cup of hot water away.

Every Filipino family honor this culinary practice since the time the noodles reached our shores from China in the 19th century. Yes, this particular dish is Chinese in origin introduced to us by these enterprising people, among other things like tikoy, firecrackers, abacus and probably an mmf drawer. To give it a marketing edge, they added a special meaning to it – long noodles symbolize long life. Who would refuse that? Cut the noodles short then you change its meaning. Have none, you run against fate. But these days, it took a different meaning. Eat more of it then you gain weight, plus interest. We have become a carbo-conscious generation.

But no matter how you look like it, this is not your ordinary Pancit. It’s versatile. Eat it with bread and rice. Fry it or boil it. Take them raw too. Put chicken, meat or seafood. Or just plain water. It’s filling and appetizing, not to mention cheaper at P5. If rice is a staple in this country, this one probably lands second.