We eat pancit all the time. If there’s a party, let’s whip up some pancit. Hey, your auntie and uncle are visiting, let’s make some pancit. Oh you have a friend coming over, let’s eat pancit. In other words it is a dish for all occasions! Of all the different types of Filipino pancits, my absolute favorite is pancit bihon.
What’s pancit bihon you ask? Pancit is just the name we give for a noodle dish and, usually, the second part is the type of noodle. For instance, pancit canton is made with an egg noodle and pancit sotanghon is made with vermicelli noodles. It can get more complicated, but we’ll leave it like that for now. What are bihon noodles exactly? Good question! It’s kind of like vermicelli noodles, except bihon noodles are made with cornstarch and rice flour (yay, for my celiac friends!).
Now pancit does look very intimidating to make. And I have to admit that I really didn’t want to learn how to make this dish because to me it looked incredibly difficult to whip up. Bihon noodles look so incredibly fragile in its packaging that certainly it needed delicate, intricate ways of preparing them in a dish. So one day I just did it; I sat down and watched my mom make pancit because why not. And guess what? It is super easy and surprisingly fast to make! What?! No wonder my mom just whipped it up for whatever occasion. Maybe you’ll consider pancit bihon for you next party!
Pancit Bihon
A very easy noodle dish for any occasion.
Ingredients
- ½ lb. green beans, julienned
- ½ cup carrots, julienned
- 3 stalks celery, julienned
- 1 cup green cabbage, shredded
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 lb. boneless chicken, cubed
- 3 tbs. olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1 package (~1 lb.) bihon noodles
- 3 tbs. mushroom soy sauce
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 4 pork chicharron pieces, crushed (optional)
- lemon wedges
Directions
- Step 1 In a wok on medium-high heat, add oil.
- Step 2 Add onions and cook until soft, but not browned. About 5 minutes.
- Step 3 Add garlic, cook for 30 seconds.
- Step 4 Add chicken and cook for about 10 minutes, turning chicken.
- Step 5 Meanwhile, in a large bowl of hot water soak noodles.
- Step 6 Add soy sauce to wok and bring to boil.
- Step 7 Add celery, carrots, and green beans and cook until tender. About 10 minutes.
- Step 8 Drain noodles when soft.
- Step 9 When chicken is cooked through, toss drained noodles into mixture until everything is evenly distributed. There should be no sauce left because the noodles will absorb it all.
- Step 10 Serve with crushed chicharron on top and a side of lemon wedges.
