The Pancit Bihon or Pansit Bihon Guisado is one of the most popular versions of pancit dishes here in the Philippines, so it is only fitting that you get to learn a delicious and relatively easy recipe of this dish!
This is a perfect dish to learn since it is always a hit when it comes to special occasions and large gatherings so learn how to make one now by reading this recipe article below to see some more tips and some trivia about the pancit.
What is Pancit Bihon?
Pancit is a famous Filipino dish that usually consists of noodles cooked with soy sauce along with some variation of meats and chopped vegetables.
This version of pancit makes use of bihon or what is called the rice noodles, mixed with pork, chicken, and a variety of vegetables. This dish is always served during special occasions such as fiesta, birthday celebrations, and other forms of large gatherings.
Pancit was introduced to us by the Chinese settlers in the olden days, and has long been adapted by the Filipinos all around the country–making it into many different versions.
The term pancit comes from the word pien sit which literally means “convenient food” in a Chinese dialect, so it is very fitting since these noodles can be very versatile and be partnered with different kinds of ingredients.
Confusing pancit bihon with pancit canton? Learn the difference here: Bihon vs Canton.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Pancit
You will be using store-bought dried pancit bihon or thin rice noodles for this recipe.
Meat
For the meats, we’ve included pork belly and chicken breast but you can use your preferred meat type and meat cut.
Vegetables
For the vegetable, we’ve included basic ones like carrots and cabbage but you can always add your preferred vegetables if you like.
Aside from this, you will also use common pantry ingredients like onion, garlic, soy sauce, meat broth, salt, black pepper, and cooking oil. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Cooking Pan (Kawali)– This is a one-pan dish and you will need a very large pan or kawali or wok to cook everything together.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Make Pancit Bihon
Making the pancit bihon can look quite confusing and overwhelming because it involves a lot of ingredients.
A good thing to do is to have all of the ingredients prepared and cut into how they are needed and place them in an area of your kitchen where you can see them, so you can visualize and grasp the whole procedure as you make it.
For this recipe, a good idea is to cook the meat ingredients and vegetable ingredients first, and then cook the noodles afterwards.
Cooking Tips
- It is a general advice to cut the meat ingredients as equal as possible so they can be evenly cooked in the pan. Cutting it in smaller sizes is also good as the insides will be cooked easily and the whole dish will be more flavorful in every bite.
- When cooking the vegetables, try to remember that your goal is to blanche them. This is because it will still be cooked once you mix all the ingredients, and vegetables can be easily overcooked. Overcooked vegetables will result in them being soggy, and it will give a quite unpleasant feeling when eating the pancit.
- The type of cookware you use can be significant when it comes to cooking ingredients in large batches, so the perfect one you can use for the pancit bihon is a wok. This works perfectly as it is large and slanted, so the ingredients won’t topple over easily, plus the heat will stay inside the pot nicely. If this is not available, any type of wide skillet is good for the job.
How to Serve Pancit Bihon
Pancit bihon is best paired with other celebratory food like the rice cake puto, Lumpiang Shanghai, pork barbecue, and of course, your favorite cola soda. But in case you are having this for snacks, it usually paired with sandwiches like Clubhouse sandwich, tuna sandwich, or even with siopao.
How to Store and Reheat Pancit Bihon
In case you have leftovers, store the pancit bihon in clean food containers with lid. Refrigerate in to extend their shelf life for up to 3 days. To reheat the pancit, you can either use a microwave oven or in a pan over a stovetop.
Other Versions of Pancit
There are many types of pancit dishes that you can find all over the country. These dishes almost always include a variety of ingredients topped into the noodles, but they are prepared differently, depending on the availability of the ingredients from the area and depending on the culture.
Here are some of the versions of pancit you can also try:
- Pancit Palabok
- Pancit Sotanghon Guisado
- Pancit Malabon
- Pancit Canton
- Pancit Habhab
- Pancit Lomi
- Pancit Lusay
- Pancit Luglug
- Pancit Molo
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Authentic Pancit Bihon Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking Pan
Ingredients
- 500 g (1.1 lbs) rice noodles (bihon)
- 200 g (7 oz) pork belly, cut into small serving pieces
- 200 g (7 oz) chicken breast, cut into small serving pieces
- 1 pc medium-sized carrot, cut into thin strips
- ½ head cabbage, shredded
- 1 pc medium-sized onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups meat broth
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 pc lemon or 3 - 4 pcs calamansi (optional), cut into wedges
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large cooking pot, pour-in and heat oil over medium heat.
- Add-in the onions, and garlic. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes or until soft and aromatic.
- Add-in the pork belly, and chicken breast. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Pour-in the meat broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the meat is tender.
- Add-in the carrots and cabbage. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Set aside the ingredients, leaving the liquids in the cooking pot.
- In the same cooking pot, add-in the rice noodles, and soy sauce. Mix until well-incorporated and cook until the noodles absorb the liquid.
- Add back in the meat and vegetable ingredients, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer to a serving tray or serving plate. Top with lemon. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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