What do you do with the water in which you have soaked dried mushrooms? Throw it away? Don’t. It has just as much flavor as the mushrooms themselves. Just get a clean cheesecloth (kata, or any similar fabric), fold it in half, and set it over a bowl. Strain the mushroom in soaking water with a cloth. Use strained liquid for cooking. That’s the secret to this noodle dish.
Egg noodles are available fresh or dried in several shapes and sizes–flat, fine, thin, or thick. Fresh egg noodles in the Philippines are very salty and, except when cooking pancit miki-bihon, I stay away from them. And when I do use fresh egg noodles, I omit the salt altogether.
In cooking Chinese-style noodle dishes, one of the most popular choices is pancit canton, the kind that is wrapped in cellophane. While pancit canton is good for certain recipes, other varieties are better choices for other kinds of dishes. Pancit canton is oily and tends to get soggy when reheated. Try using other varieties of egg noodles. The “straight” ones (much like Italian spaghetti and fettuccini but shorter) do not contain much salt or oil; adjusting seasonings is more under your control. I used flat egg noodles for this dish.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Slice the mushrooms. Heat a heavy skillet or wok. Pour oil and heat to the smoking point. Sprinkle salt over diced pork (this is optional, as too much salt at this stage may make the finished dish too salty). Stir-fry diced liempo until quite brown and the texture is almost like chicharon (pork cracklings). Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.
Reheat oil. Saute garlic and onion. Cook for about 30 seconds, then add julienned carrots. Meanwhile mix mushroom soaking water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, and ground pepper. Pour into skillet or wok and stir until liquid is no longer cloudy. Add noodles to the skillet; return pork. Drizzle sesame seed oil. Toss everything to distribute ingredients evenly and coat noodles with sauce, for about 1 minute.