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Pancit Bihon Take 1

I don't care what anyone says, Pancit is harder to make that it actually looks. Above is the result of probably 3 to 3 1/2 hours of cooking for Easter lunch. I usually assist my mom, an amazing Pilipino cuisine cook, in the kitchen on the holidays. I've cut all the ingredients before, and helped out with a few steps here and there, but this was the first time I did it all my own. My main goal was to NOT burn the noodles! (Been there, done that). But as a result, I think I just over-thought the entire process. What resulted was a somewhat mushy Pancit Bihon that my brother-in-law called Chopped Pancit! LOL.

It actually tasted pretty decent, but I really couldn't get over the consistency of it. By no means should you have to "scoop" a plate of pancit for yourself. It should fall gently and effortlessly onto plates with a fork. I know with a lot of practice, I can make this a lot better. Someday, I'll be able to spend 1 hour in the kitchen and not 3-4 hours. I'll prepare all the ingredients ahead of time instead of racing against a hot pot of browning shrimp. And I'll take it easy on the chicken broth that my mom usually adds to soften the bihon.

But I just wanted to share the recipe. Here are the directions to making my Mom's pancit bihon. There are likely dozens of variations. Feel free to let me know how you cook yours, too!

-The Filipina Chicagoan

Sunny's Pancit Bihon (aka my Mom's Bihon)
1) Sautee 3 cloves garlic and 1 large white, chopped onion in a huge pot
2) Add achuete until it is a reddish color
3) Add peeled, uncooked shrimp and brown
4) Add shredded cooked chicken - use anything from chicken tenders to the rotisserie chicken you have from the grocery store
5) Add 1 package of Excellent brand rice noodles from the Pilipino store. Note: This has to be softened in a pot/tray of lukewarm water at least a half hour before cooking. Drain very, very well in a colander.
6) Add a splash -- do not douse -- of chicken stock to the pot. (Don't be like me!)
7) Add in chopped green cabbage, shredded or julienne carrots, finely chopped mushrooms and finely sliced celery.
8) Mix noodles, meat and veggies all together on medium heat.
9) If you are on a time constraint, add in a Rice Sticks packet to flavor pancit. Find flavoring packets at the Pilipino store for under $1. Speeds up the flavoring process.
10) Add cilantro and peapods - remove the ends off first.
11) Sprinkle with lemon, soy sauce and garlic.
12) Serve hot with slices of lemon, cilantro, shrimp or egg, if you'd like.
13) Always have LOTS of leftovers to fill in tupper ware.

I hope to cook just like my mom someday soon!

Chicago Asian Americans Rally in Washington for Immigration Rally

From the Asian American Institute:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact:
Saturday, March 20, 2010	Sung Yeon Choi-Morrow
	Community Organizer
	Asian American Institute
	Phone: 630. 615. 9551
	E-mail:sungyeon@aaichicago.org Web: www.aaichicago.org

CHICAGO ASIAN AMERICANS DESCEND UPON WASHINGTON FOR
MARCH FOR AMERICA RALLY TOMORROW

CHICAGO, IL -The Asian American Institute (AAI) has sent 49 local people to Washington, D.C., to gather for tomorrow's March for America rally for comprehensive immigration reform. The group left Chicago by bus on Saturday night, and will arrive in Washington on Sunday morning, where they will join an anticipated crowd of 100,000 supporters of immigration reform.

Almost 2/3 of immigrants from Asia came to the U.S. through family immigration. But those from Asian countries have to endure some of the worst immigration backlogs in the world. "Every day is an eternity when you long for family - and some in our community wait 22 years to be reunited with loved ones," said Tuyet Le, executive director for AAI, who will be one of the speakers at the rally. The March for America rally is held to show elected officials how many people are affected by the immigration system, and demand that they prioritize comprehensive immigration reform. In addition, community members from across the nation will be sharing their own personal stories with the broken immigration system.

Several attendees from AAI's group have experienced the broken immigration system first-hand, or have experienced how it separated their families. Liuan Chen of Wheaton, Illinois is rallying in DC to bring her family back together. Her stepfather, Mr. Huang, left the United States voluntarily in June after being detained by the Department of Homeland Security, facing deportation unable to get documentation. Chen's mother still faces deportation after her permanent residency application was dropped, because she divorced her previous husband, who was her visa sponsor. However, her mother remains here legally, having been granted a temporary stay to care for her children, ages 9 and 11, who are citizens. "They are separated by an ocean and a system, when all they are trying to do is make a living," Chen said.

In addition to AAI's group, more than 100 Asian Americans from the Chicagoland area will attend the March for America. Other local organizations sending participants by bus include: Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, Korean American Resource and Cultural Center, and Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment.

Several rally-goers from the local area will use social networking to boost awareness of March for America, and to share their personal experience from this symbolic journey to Washington. Find post updates on Facebook and tweets on Twitter.

Follow the group on Twitter from now until Sunday as it marches through Washington, then to the rally held on the National Mall beginning at 2 p.m. EST.

Available for Media Interviews:
Tuyet Le, Executive Director of AAI, 773-456-3589
Liuan Chen, 409-223-8606

Links on the Web:

March For America

Lent: Week One

What exactly is a meat pie? And more so, what is a Guiness-based Shepherd's Meat Pie? That was an item on the menu of the bar and grill I lunched at in between work Friday. Four days ago, I gave up red meat for Lent. I also gave up white rice and greasy food -- period. For 36 more days, I plan to keep these three things out of my diet. I know it won't be easy, but I hope you'll follow along with me to catch if I survive or fail, but mainly, if I've learned anything.

The funny thing is, I didn't have any desire to eat this meat pie, and that surprised me. I was more curious as to why someone would need/want/even create a meat pie. Is it wrapped in a doughy crust? If that's the case then I really don't feel like eating it. So because it was Friday and meat was not allowed in my diet at all that day, I went for the next best thing I could find on the menu. It was not easy and I partly feel like I've failed.

My lunch? A tuna melt on multigrain bread with a broccoli and cheese soup. I can just hear the grease and butter bubbling in those very words. The tuna was in some kind of mayo mix, the multigrain bread didn't exactly look like it came out of a wood fire oven and for cheese to melt that softly in your mouth, you better believe it's not the healthiest. And we all know broccoli and cheese soup is laden with all sorts of cream and buttah. That's when I knew these next few weeks would be a work in progress for me.

As for red meat, it's not like I ate it all the time, or so I thought. But as I take a look in my fridge and another look into my freezer, I shock myself. I honestly thought I ate red meat three times a month at most. Yeah, not so much. The spaghetti I made over the weekend is in a meat sauce. The beef steak prepared so meticulously by my mom won't get a taste from me, even as it sits so perfectly on a platter. Forget about those amazing carne asada tacos from one of my favorite taquerias, Los Gallos. And I can say goodbye to delicious char-grilled beef burgers on any happy hour menu. (Especially those darn cute mini burgers. And those savory Kobe burgers, too. Beef is oh-so-good sometimes, isn't it?)

But giving up red meat is going to be a good thing in the end, and I'm not going to complain about something I proposed for myself in the first place. (Same goes for white rice and greasy food). So when you mix those three sacrifices together, my limits seem to be adding up by the day. So far, I'm enjoying the challenge.

What I'm doing is supposed to be life-changing, as my pastor has said, meaning whatever changes I do make, I should live them out and continue them. I've already started to open my eyes to a lot of things, and I hope you'll follow me to see how I do 36 days from now. I also hope to not make this about myself, but rather a transformation and a realization that internal changes make you a better person. We don't celebrate and practice Lent to make life all about us, but we do it to look deep within ourselves to become better people. Our lives are always, always, always about us already, remember?

And that's a good reminder to us all. But seriously, can anyone tell me what a meat pie is? And why would you ever want to eat one?

~Rowie V

UIC's Filipinos in Alliance host 7th annual BATTLE OF THE BAMBOO

Let's get ready to Rrrrumble!

This Saturday night (Feb. 20) @ the UIC Forum, Filipinos in Alliance at the Univ. of Illinois at Chicago will host its 7th annual Battle of the Bamboo. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. The event is completely free!

You will not want to miss this year's event, which is welcoming a record-number of participants -- some 250 dancers from colleges and high schools in Chicago, including 1 out-of-state cultural group from St. Louis University.

Tonight, I chatted with Mark Ezpeleta, FIA Vice President of External, and this year's Battle of the Bamboo coordinator. Mark tells me that all groups have been practicing since last year, so competition is expected to be fierce.

The defending champions are Philippine Student Association at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. UIUC and Loyola University's cultural dance group have been known to take the Bamboo title a few times each in the last six years.

In a few hours hopefully....you'll find a quick teaser video we made with Mark! Check it all out here and stay tuned.

Shout outs to Voltaire Roxas for producing the quick video, and Mark Ezpeleta for the great interview.

So don't miss Battle of the Bamboo. Saturday night. UIC Forum.

~ Rowie V / The Filipina Chicagoan

Tonight, I'll be proud

Four months ago, my older sister Vivika asked me if I wanted to help plan the Asian Lunar New Year Celebration in Chicago. My only knowledge of this event was from Vivika, who attended the new year five years ago. It was part-work and part-community outreach for her in her state government job.

I had never been to a Lunar New Year celebration myself, since I’m Filipina and do not celebrate the Lunar calendar. But when I found out the event actually switches off every year among 16 or so Asian ethnic groups and Filipinos were to host the 2010 dinner and celebration, I looked at it with open eyes. Plus, I had just volunteered with the same organization, Asian American Coalition of Chicago last May. At that time, it hosted the Chicago heritage festival at Daley Plaza, a very fun event.

Still, not knowing exactly what this function was all about – there are so many parts I had a hard time keeping track until it was drilled into my head. There’s a political forum, a silent auction, an awards ceremony, Keynote Speaker Euna Lee, dinner and many of the political figures who hold our state together on a daily basis …. phew…

But in these last two weeks, I finally figured out the point of this event.

It is more than just a Lunar New Year celebration and it is more than just an event that happens every year. It’s an event honoring the efforts, strides and achievements of the Asian community in Chicago and I’m so proud to say I played a little role in it. After months of planning, this celebration, potentially the largest of its kind in the Chicago area with some 900 guests, is finally happening today.

In the past two weeks I have learned:

-Northern Illinois has welcomed Young Kim as its new U.S. Magistrate Judge, and he is the first Korean-American ever to be appointed.

-There are at least five candidates running in the Primary Election of Asian American descent, with races for Attorney General, Illinois Comptroller and several state representative seats.

-Ping Tom was a pioneer for heightening the power and visibility of the Chicago Asian American community since the 1960s. He was the force behind the establishment of Chinatown and is considered Chinatown’s most civic leader. I knew he was a legend, but never heard his story until this past week.

I’ve always known, but never really explored the brevity of this statement– There is so much more to learn and understand about the work being done in the Asian American community. And from what I can tell, it’s endless. I feel clueless and a bit ashamed that I don’t know more about my own culture and coming from me, I think that says a lot.

I’d like to say that I’m already very proud to be Asian and a Filipina American and part of the culture that exists here in Chicago. I shop at local Asian-owned businesses, I go to the Filipino grocery stores and I definitely love authentic Asian restaurants, bakeries and even the one Filipino ice cream shop in the area, Village Creamery. I support the many Filipino artists and musicians here, too. Every now and then, I make my way out to a cultural event, but not to offend, the focus is usually on traditional dancing and singing.

I realize that there’s so much more to be proud of now. I realize that really, my own awareness has been limited, even a bit superficial. And maybe we can all do a little bit more to elevate our community, beyond the food, the dancing and the singing.
I have to admit, there was a ton of planning and time spent by all committee members on this event. I had a lot of late nights. I stayed up until hours I haven’t recognized since college. I got cranky, impatient and frustrated. I’ve been very pre-occupied. But then there’s the big picture I have to look at.

Tonight, I’ll enjoy celebrating the strides of my community, and I’ll only begin to be thankful for all of their efforts. Tonight, I’ll only begin to understand the power, vitality and potential of my community, that so many people have dedicated their lives to for decades.