How to Make Pancit Bihon (Fried Rice Noodles)

By
Jun Belen
Published: July 27, 2010Posted in: Fish, Noodles, Poultry
How to Make Pancit Bihon (Fried Rice Noodles)


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Birthdays are always celebrated with plenty of food in my family.  Lots of food.  My mom, now in her seventies, still never fails to deliver a lavish spread, way more than our huge family could eat.  In all these birthday gatherings, noodles are ever-present.  The long strands of noodles signify long life, something that Filipinos borrowed from the Chinese.  Growing up, my favorite noodle dish is pancit bihon (puhn-sit bee-hon) or stir-fried rice noodles, which is incredibly simple to make.  Rice noodles soak up all the tasty flavors from the chicken stock, soy and fish sauce, which is why the key to making delicious pancit is making delicious homemade chicken stock.

My mom makes pancit with carrots and cabbage, and sometimes adds snow peas.  I also remember my mom adding sliced Chinese sausage, which are the hard sausages that are made of pork, and are smoked then sweetened.  It’s the same Chinese sausage that she uses when she makes fried rice with fried eggs and diced vegetables.  When I was a kid, I loved digging through a big plate of pancit to thoroughly look for those sweet slices of Chinese sausage hidden under the stack of rice noodles.  I would pick all the sausage and shrimp and leave all the vegetables untouched.

Last week, I made pancit for my blog’s first birthday.  For long life, I hoped.

I love adding shiitake mushrooms to my mom’s recipe and, when they are in season, I love adding asparagus and snap peas, too.  And a spritz of kalamansi or lime always gives pancit a delightful zest.

Pancit Bihon

For pancit bihon, makes 4 to 6 servings

8 ounces rice stick noodles
1 bone-in chicken breast with skin
3 chicken drumsticks
1 cup green cabbage, shredded
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
lime wedges

Making pancit bihon

Boil chicken breast and drumsticks in 4 cups of water to make the chicken stock. Add a few pinches of sea salt. Once chicken is cooked, shred the meat into strips. Discard the skin and bones and set the chicken stock aside.

Heat a large pan to medium-high heat. Stir fry garlic and onions in canola oil until the onions turn translucent. Add the shredded chicken pieces and shrimp. Once the shrimp is cooked, add cabbage and carrots. Stir fry for a few minutes. Place the mixture onto a bowl and set aside.

Pour the chicken stock into the pan and let it boil and then turn the heat down to let it simmer. Add rice sticks, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Boil until there is approximately 1/4 cup stock left. Add the protein and vegetable mixture back into the pan and stir fry until all the liquid has evaporated.  Keep tossing the noodles to keep them from sticking to the pan.  Add freshly ground pepper to taste.  Serve with lime wedges.

A final note, Excellent is my brand of choice for the rice stick noodles, which are almost always available in Asian markets.  Here in San Francisco, Manila Oriental Market carries the Excellent brand.

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About the Author

I am a pembroke-welsh-corgi-belly-rubbing, honkey-nerd-loving, fried-chicken-eating thirty-something scientist, chemical engineer, digital photographer, graphic and web designer and writer.