Hello to my fellow #teampancit! If you ask me, I think pancit or pansit should be in every Filipino occasion, may it be birthdays, baptismals, Christmas, and weddings.
There is no doubt that Filipinos love pancit (noodles) and one of the more popular ways of cooking them is by stir frying or guisado. And when talking about stir-fried pancit, two dishes come to mind, the Pancit Canton and Pancit Bihon.
Because of their similarities, those who are not familiar might confuse the two. What is the difference between Pancit Bihon and Pancit Canton?
While both may use the same ingredients for the sauce and toppings, the main difference between Pancit Bihon and Pancit Canton is the type of noodle (pancit) used in each dish. Bihon is a type of rice noodle that appears to be thin and translucent. Canton is a type of egg noodle that appears to be thicker, opaque, and yellowish in color. Another difference worth noting is that raw (dried) canton noodles cost almost twice as bihon raw (dried) bihon noodles.
What is the Difference Between Pancit Bihon and Pancit Canton?
Pancit Bihon and Pancit Canton may have a lot in common, but it is worth knowing their differences to get a better understanding of the two noodles and their stir-fried dish.
Similarities
When it comes to the cooking method, both Pancit Canton and Pancit Bihon are commonly cooked stir-fried or what we locally call guisado. This means the noodles are cooked in a pan or wok together with other ingredients like pork, shrimp, squid, celery, and cabbage, to mention a few.
A Pancit Canton Guisado dish and a Pancit Bihon Guisado dish may look exactly alike in terms of ingredients, except of course, for the noodles used.
Another similarity between the two is that both are festive dishes. They are commonly served at gatherings, parties, and special occasions. Both are usually cooked to serve a crowd of people. In the Philippines, you’ll usually see pancit dishes served in a bilao or a circular basket.
Both dishes are also of Chinese origin since pancit noodles were introduced by Chinese traders way back.
Noodles
The main ingredient, the noodles or pancit, is enough to distinguish the two dishes.
The pancit bihon appears whitish in color when raw or dried and turns translucent when cooked. The noodle strands are thin and round and are made up of rice and corn.
The pancit canton appears yellowish in color and it doesn’t change appearance when cooked. The noodle strands are thick and round and are made up of egg and wheat.
Price/ Cost
When it comes to their prices or their cost, the raw/ dried pancit bihon is relatively cheaper compared to the raw/ dried pancit canton. So it is a much affordable dish to prepare when working with a lower budget.
Pancit Canton
Pancit canton is probably the most popular type of noodle in the country. It’s everywhere. I mean, I grew up eating those irresistible instant pancit canton. But, of course, the pancit canton guisado dish is something else.
It is very much similar to the popular Chinese Lo Mein or Chow Mein noodles. Unlike other types of noodles, pancit canton is cooked stir-fried with a plethora of topping ingredients. The more ingredients this dish has, the more special it is.
If you want to come up with your own pancit canton dish, take a look at our recipe here: Authentic Pancit Canton Recipe. This recipe is as special as it can get as we tried to come up with the best combination of ingredients perfect for this dish.
Egg Noodle
Pancit canton is a type of egg noodle. Making these from scratch is very much similar to making pasta noodles. It is a combination of wheat flour, egg, salt, and water. Pancit canton is usually sold in the marketplace in dried form and can easily soften when cooked in a sauce.
Pancit Bihon
Pancit bihon is like pancit canton’s little brother. In every shop that makes pancit canton, I’d bet there’s also pancit bihon on the menu.
Like pancit canton, this dish is also cooked stir fried. You can go as simple as cooking it with basic ingredients like pieces of meat and vegetable but you can also make it special by adding different other toppings.
We also came up with an Authentic Pancit Bihon recipe that you can try at home. We picked quality ingredients to go along with this dish so you can make the best pancit bihon dish yourself.
Rice Noodle
Pancit bihon is a type of rice noodle. Usually, it is made up of a combination of rice flour and cornstarch. Pancit bihon is usually sold in the marketplace in dried form and can easily soften when cooked in a sauce.
Other Popular Pancit
Pancit bihon and pancit canton are just two of the many noodles used in the Philippine cuisine. While most make used of the basic ingredients of egg and rice noodles, the noodles vary in size and shape, depending on how it is used or where it is made.
Here are some noodles you may have heard of: pancit sotanghon, pancit palabok, pancit Lucban, pancit luglug, miki, misua, pancit bato, pancit lomi.
Other Pancit Recipes:
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