From the Hokkien word "PIAN I SIT" or something conveniently cooked fast-Chinese introduces pancit into the Filipino culture.



Pancit is believed to be THE FOOD FOR A LONGER LIFE.



According to www.wikipedia.org there are 29 kinds of pancit in the Philippines today. Among this is the pancit from the town of Bato, Camarines Sur.



The Declaro Family introduced the pancit bato in the local market in 1950 through Pedro Declaro Sr., a Batangueño who was married to a native of the town.



Pedro Sr. loves baking bread before he learned producing pancit.




Making pancit bato is very simple and quick.



His son, Pedro Jr., explained to us how pancit bato is made.



Salt, food coloring, sodium carbonate or soda and water are the main ingredients added to flour to create the dough using a mixer within 5 minutes. After this, the dough must pass through a dough roller in 5 minutes before being sliced into strand of noodles using slicer machine.



Then, the noodles will be transferred on an iron plate and will be baked in an oven (pugon) in 5 minutes. The heat should be controlled or else the noodles will get burned. After this, the original pancit bato is ready for packing.



The Declaro Pancit Factory offers a kind of no preservatives pancit bato that can be stocked over a year. They started this method since 2007, aiming that buyers can also bring this as "pasalubong" to their loved ones abroad.



There are 2 ways of Solar Drying a pancit bato:
1- through the heat of the sun, and
2- by undergoing a steam and dryer within 30 minutes.



Also, there are pancit bato especially made with natural flavoring like carrots, malunggay and squash to make it healthier than the instant noodles available in the nearby store.



Here's the price of Pancit Bato:



Solar-dried pancit bato
• 200g - Php8.00 (good for 3 persons)
• 500g - Php30 .00 (good for 10 persons)



Original pancit bato
• 1 kilo - Php30.00
• 5 kilo - Php150.00



The Declaro Pancit Factory is planning to expand their production area especially now that they are selling their pancit bato across the nation.



(Jonathan Magistrado, ABS-CBN Bicol)