Summer Vegetable Pancit Canton

Recipe from Nico de Leon

Adapted by Christian Reynoso

Updated July 1, 2026

  • Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Ready In
30 min
Rating
4(98)
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Pancit is the catch-all term for Filipino noodle dishes of the sort served everywhere from casual cafeteria-style turo-turo counters to big family gatherings. The name comes from the Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) phrase "pian i sit”, meaning “food cooked fast,” and the words that follow tell you what kind of noodles or style to expect. This version, adapted from Nico de Leon, formerly the chef and co-owner of Lasita in Los Angeles, is pancit canton, made with chewy wheat noodles inspired by Chinese stir-fries. It’s a flexible, one-pan dish that comes together quickly and welcomes variation: add shrimp or chicken, or keep it vegetable-forward, as it is here, with a mix of summer produce. As the noodles cook, they soak up a savory, citrusy sauce that lightly coats everything. Serve it as a main or alongside other dishes—and don’t skip the final squeeze of lemon or, if you can find it, calamansi, a small citrus fruit with a bright, floral tartness that falls somewhere between lime and mandarin, which pulls the whole dish into focus.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 1½ tablespoons cornstarch 

  • ½ cup plus 1½ tablespoons water, divided

  • 2 ounces canola, avocado or other high-heat friendly oil

  • ¼ medium red onion, sliced (about 3 ounces/½ cup)

  • ½ pound bell pepper (about 1 large, any color), stemmed, seeded and sliced into ¼-inch strips 

  • 1 medium zucchini or summer squash, slices into half moons (about 6 ounces/1 ½  cups)

  • ¼ pound green beans or yellow wax beans, stemmed and cut in half, optional

  • 8 ounces cherry tomatoes (about 1 cup)

  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 1 pound fresh Yakisoba or pancit Canton noodles

  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

  • ½ cup soy sauce

  • 2 lemons, one juiced, one sliced into wedges (or substitute calamansi wedges, if you can find them)

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup cilantro leaves and stems, roughly chopped, for serving

  • ½ cup sliced scallion, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

68 grams carbs; 64 milligrams cholesterol; 438 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 1192 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 7 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small cup or bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 1 ½ tablespoons water to make a slurry. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Heat a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high and add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the red onion, stirring until slightly blistered, about 30 seconds. Repeat with the bell pepper then zucchini, then beans and lastly the tomatoes and garlic together—after 30 seconds, gently stir in the noodles to avoid bursting the tomatoes. 

  3. Step 3

    After another 30 seconds of stirring add the red pepper flakes, if using. Pour ½ cup water into the skillet and once heavily steaming, about 1 minute, add the soy sauce, lemon juice and the cornstarch slurry. Turn up the heat to high and stir and toss together until the sauce thickens and glazes everything. Turn off heat and season with salt.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer the pancit to a large bowl or platter, then garnish with the cilantro, scallions and wedges of lemon or calamansi. Serve hot.

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    Ratings

    4 out of 5
    98 user ratings
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    Comments

    Margie Gibson

    This turned out much better than I expected. I couldn’t get the right kind of noodle, but I found a suggestion to boil the noodles in water with a spoon of baking soda. That left the noodles with a pleasantly chewy texture. Also, I added ginger along with the garlic just because I like the combination and cilantro to the vegetables while they were frying in addition to the cilantro used as garnish. Next time, I’ll add the beans earlier in the cooking process—they were too crisp for my taste.

    Sharon

    @Jill or don’t had the 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Soy adds umami. Get reduced sodium if too salty.

    Laurie

    Or just use low sodium soy sauce?

    Ellen F

    Couldn't get the fresh noodles and I shopped in an area where I expected to find lots of Asian foods (LA basin), but used dry noodles and cooked them less time than the packet called for. It worked out okay. Still, did other people find the right noodles??? And totally agree, use low sodium soy sauce and skip the salt and add the green beans sooner. I added some edamame for protein.

    Loren

    I made this with spaghetti because I didn’t have time to seek out the proper noodles before my fresh veggies would not be so fresh. I boiled the spaghetti to al dente before adding to the recipe. I also added shrimp with the noodles and it was grand. A very tasty and simple recipe. Btw, I also blanched the beans first-just personal taste.

    ziobi

    Simple and a crowd pleaser. Made this a few nights ago. Six diners, ages 16-95, at the table. Everyone loved it. I added about 2lbs meat before adding the noodles and adapted other ingredient quantities to feed the teens’ big appetites and use up what we had in the fridge. The soy sauce I used is Silver Swan, which has a nice, rich flavor. I do think it made a difference and recommend using it or other dark soy. Also, some of the meat I added was leftover pork larb. I was a little worried the flavors would clash, but the larb was downright subtle when mixed into this dish. One teen, who hadn’t much liked the OG larb, loved this and had no idea the leftover larb was in it. Adaptions: Yellow onion instead of red About 3.5 c yellow zucchini cut into blocks About 2.5 c green beans Leftover chopped tomato and scallion salad, about 1/3 c Cherry tomatoes, a handful Buckwheat noodles bc we had a ton of it. Salted the water and added a little baking soda. Worked surprisingly well! Fresh lemon juice per recipe plus some bottled calamansi Handful of torn basil bc we had no cilantro Additions: 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks 2 c leftover Herby Pork Larb (Colu Henry nyt recipe)

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