Pancit Bihon is an irresistible Filipino noodle dish that’s easy to make and delivers traditional Filipino flavor. Perfectly chewy rice noodles are stir fried with chicken and veggies, then seasoned with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and other seasonings. It’s quick to make and full of delicious flavor!
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In this traditional Filipino Pancit Bihon recipe, rice noodles (called rice stick noodles) get a quick stir fry in a wok with vegetables, chicken, and a sweet and savory sauce.
It’s delicious, filling, and only takes 35 minutes to make from start to finish. It’s simple, but incredibly satisfying, the way most Filipino food is.
WHAT IS PANCIT BIHON?
Pancit is a Filipino word that refers to a few different Filipino noodle dishes. 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 flavor comes from onions, garlic, and a sauce made of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sometimes fish sauce.
Pancit Palabok is another popular Filipino noodle dish that uses bihon noodles or rice noodles cooked with a shrimp sauce. There’s a similar dish called Pancit Canton, but it’s made with egg noodles instead of rice vermicelli noodles. Pancit Malabon is studded with seafood.
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.
Some pancit recipes use more sugar, less sugar, or no sugar at all. Chopped vegetables can include carrots, cabbage, bell peppers, onions, string beans, and others.
No matter how you make it, this Pancit Bihon recipe 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.
What ingredients do you need to make Pancit Bihon?
The ingredients needed for this recipe are mostly available at any supermarket. The only ingredients that may require a trip to a local Asian market are the noodles and perhaps oyster sauce, but many supermarkets do carry both of these items.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breast
- Oil: Any neutral flavored cooking oil (peanut, safflower, canola, etc.)
- Noodles: Dried bihon noodles made from (rice vermicelli noodles, rice stick noodles, or other noodles made from rice flour. You can find these in Asian markets or online.)
- Mixed vegetables: Green beans, green cabbage, carrots, onion, and minced garlic
- Seasonings: Chicken broth or chicken stock, dark soy sauce, lower sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, pepper, and sugar
How do you make it?
This dish is easy to make. The only equipment you need is a large pan or wok and a spatula or spoon to stir.
- Heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then brown it in the wok.
- Saute onion and garlic and then cook whatever vegetable mixture you are using in the same skillet.
- Add the noodles along with a mixture of sweet soy sauce, reduced-sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar.
- Add the dry noodles to the wok and cook the noodles, stirring constantly, to coat the noodles.
- Cover the wok and cook for about 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, with lemon wedges if you like o.
Can you add other ingredients to pancit?
Definitely! This is a very versatile dish. You can add shrimp, pork, Chinese sausage, green onions or scallions, snow peas, sugar snap peas, broccoli, bell pepper, Chinese broccoli, mushrooms, bok choy, and other simple ingredients.
More asian noodle dishes to try
I love noodles, especially Asian noodle dishes! Singapore Noodles are similar to Pancit, but made with wheat noodles and 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.
I also love Spicy Miso Ramen, Instant Pot Pho, and Burmese Garlic Noodles.
Try vegetable pulau in Instant Pot for another easy-to-make Filipino treat. If you’re looking for more authentic Filipino recipes, my friend Shobelyn at The Skinny pot has lots of them!
Pancit Bihon
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.
- Return the chicken to the wok.
- Add the noodles and cook, stirring constantly, so that the noodles get fully coated with the sauce mixture and absorb some of the liquid.
- Cover and cook for about 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.
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