If you’ve never cooked Filipino food, Pancit Bihon is a great dish to start with. Perfectly chewy rice noodles are stir fried with chicken and veggies, then seasoned with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and other seasonings. The noodles go in dry and soften in the broth, which is the whole trick to keeping them springy.
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What Is Pancit Bihon?
Pancit is a Filipino word that refers to a few different noodle dishes in the Philippines. Pancit Bihon, or Pancit Bihon Guisado as it’s also called, is made with thin rice noodles (also called rice sticks or rice vermicelli noodles) and usually has chicken pieces or other meat and an assortment of chopped vegetables.
The seasonings also vary from one pancit bihon recipe to another. Some use only regular soy sauce, lower-sodium soy sauce, or light soy sauce. Others use a combination of light soy sauce, fish sauce, and oyster sauce.
No matter how you make it, Pancit Bihon is a quick, delicious, and satisfying one-skillet meal! Noodles represent long life in Filipino culture, so this dish is popular to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions.
Ingredient notes
The only ingredients you need for this recipe that may require a trip to a local Asian market are the noodles and perhaps oyster sauce, but many supermarkets carry both of these items. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Noodles: Look for dried bihon, also sold as rice vermicelli or rice stick noodles. Thickness varies by brand, and it matters. The finest hair-thin strands hydrate in under a minute and turn to paste if you look away. Super Q Golden Bihon and Excellent Rice Stick are both a little sturdier and much more forgiving. Bihon is built to absorb liquid, so skip soaking them. The noodles go into the wok dry and soften in the seasoned broth, which is where the flavor comes from.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless breast keeps it lean, but thigh meat works too if you want more flavor. You can add other proteins to this pancit recipe like Chinese sausage, ground pork, shrimp, or tofu if you want to change it up.
- Soy sauce: This recipe uses both dark and light (regular) soy sauce. The dark adds color and depth while the light balances saltiness.
- Oyster sauce: Not every supermarket carries it, but it’s worth picking up at an Asian market or ordering online.
How to Make It
Everything happens in one wide wok or skillet, and the only other tool you really need is a pair of tongs.
Brown the diced chicken in hot oil, then pull it out of the pan. Cook the onion and garlic in the same wok until the onion softens, then add the carrots, green beans, and cabbage and stir fry until the vegetables lose their raw crunch but keep some bite. Pour in the broth along with both soy sauces, the oyster sauce, and the sugar, and let it simmer for a few minutes so the seasonings come together. Return the chicken to the pan.
Then add the noodles, straight from the package into the simmering broth. Toss them with tongs rather than stirring with a spoon, which snaps them into short pieces. Cover and let them drink up the liquid for about 7 minutes, checking at 5. You want them tender with a little resistance left, because they keep softening off the heat and will loosen further as the pan cools. If the wok runs dry before the noodles are done, add broth a few tablespoons at a time. Flooding the pan is what turns bihon to mush.
More asian noodle dishes to try
I love noodles, especially Asian noodle dishes! Like most Asian noodle dishes, Pancit traces to Chinese influence. Singapore Noodles are similar but are seasoned with curry powder. Veggie Pad Thai is another great one-skillet noodle dish that makes a complete meal out of rice noodles, called rice stick noodles, cooked with veggies and meat or seafood. Korean Ramen is another great way to enjoy spicy noodles!
I also love Gochujang Noodles, Instant Pot Pho, and Dan Dan Noodles. For another easy-to-make Filipino dish, try vegetable pulau in Instant Pot.
Pancit Bihon
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
- 8 ounces chicken breast diced
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 ounces dried bihon noodles or rice vermicelli or rice stick noodles
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces green beans sliced
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 2 carrots peeled and cut into matchstick pieces
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a wok or wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the wok.
- In the same wok, cook the onions and garlic, stirring frequently, the onions begin to soften softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the cabbage, carrots, and green beans and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes more, until the vegetables are tender.
- Add broth, dark soy sauce, reduced-sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar to the wok and let simmer for 4 minutes, then return the chicken to the wok.
- Add the noodles and cook, tossing with tongs, so that the noodles get fully coated with the sauce mixture and absorb some of the liquid.
- Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the noodles are tender. Add more broth or a little water if needed to keep the pan from becoming dry.
- Serve hot.
Noodles just like I tasted in the Philippines – delicious!
This made such a great stir fry dinner! Kiddos loved the sticky noodles and I loved the flavor.
Oh my goodness – I can not tell you how much my mouth is watering right now!
I made this with Shirataki noodles last night. Very tasty, I will definitely make it again.
Best Pancit recipe! Only changes I made were: I used four chicken thighs, and half a package of Super Golden Bihon brand noodles which is 8 oz. By far the most authentic Pancit recipe I’ve tried!
This looks a lot like Mei Fun. What’s the difference between this dish and Mei Fun? You also have an Easy One-Skillet Singapore Rice Noodles recipe on here that looks like this dish and Mei Fun as well.
I’m not sure actually, except that pancit is Filipino and mei fun is chinese. Both use thin rice noodles. I have never made mei fun but it seems like they are pretty similar.
Great recipe. Added diced green onion and use bagged slaw mix which has the cabbage and carrots already pre-sliced(easier on my arthritis). I also soak the noodles in warm water to soften them up, making them easier to manipulate when added to the wok
Pancit like I had in the Philippines and then while growing up in Goose Creek, SC. It is by far the best recipe I’ve come across. I also love to substitute other proteins in place of chicken…shrimp or thinly sliced beef. Kicking up the fancy factor, use lobster or scallops for special dinner nights and don’t forget garlic bread or just buttered saltines. No other side dishes are needed pancit is a complete meal, easy and quick.
I triple your ingredients for my gathering it was such a big hit everyone loved it! Not even leftovers! I made it again with pork this time and my family love it! Thank you so much for your delicious recipe!