Nina Daza-Puyat Shares Her Unique Take on the Beloved Filipino Pancit

Renowned food expert and cookbook author gives her own twist to the Filipino staple

One of the things that’s so great about Filipino pancit is its versatility. With numerous noodle options to choose from, combined with your own choice of protein, it has always been a dish that’s loved by many. It has served birthday celebrations, holiday gatherings, or even just a quick merienda for the family. Although numerous reiterations of the Filipino favorite have been part of our culture for many generations, food expert Nina Daza-Puyat shares one of her unique takes on the classic pancit.

Inspired by a best-seller

Nina’s Pancit Noir is a black seafood sotanghon dish that is actually inspired by another noodle dish. Influenced by the black pancit from Asiong’s restaurant in Cavite, the food stylist decided to give it her own twist. While Asiong’s version consisted of bihon and only squid as its protein, Nina opted for the springy sotanghon instead. She even upped the ante by including more types of seafood, namely shrimp and mussels, and added a variety of vegetables to stay true to the classic Filipino pancit. Infused with the broth of the shrimp and mussels, it deepens the umami flavor of the squid ink sauce. 

The cookbook author made a few notes home cooks need to remember when recreating the Pancit Noir. The first one is to make sure you source fresh seafood. Although it might seem like an already obvious step, making sure you get quality ingredients is an absolute necessity especially when cooking with seafood. The second one is to use the larger pusit lumot instead of the regular small squids commonly used for adobong pusit, to make sure that your sauce is an opaque black instead of just a muted gray. 

“The lumot is the big one that they use for grilling… That has so much ink and the ink is super black. That is the perfect squid for this type of dish. You’ll never get that dark ink if you use the regular squid,” Nina notes.

Showcased internationally

The term “noir” actually means “black” in French, hence the black sauce. As a matter of fact, Nina has presented this exact dish during a Filipino food festival in Paris back in 2019. Although the French were already familiar with the Italian spaghetti al nero, which is essentially spaghetti in squid ink sauce, Nina’s Pancit Noir was the first Filipino dish they encountered that combined noodles and squid ink during that festival. Suffice to say, the Pancit Noir greatly impressed the critical palates of the French audience and has significantly represented our country internationally.

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