Pancit Bihon (Filipino Rice Noodles)
Stir-fried rice vermicelli with chicken, shrimp, and crisp vegetables, seasoned with soy and calamansi. A pork-free take on the fiesta classic.
Ingredients
- 250 g dried bihon (rice vermicelli)
- 300 g boneless chicken thigh, cut into thin strips
- 200 g medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 cups chicken broth, kept hot
- 3 tbsp soy sauce, plus more to taste
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced thin
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium carrots, julienned
- 2 celery stalks, sliced thin on the diagonal
- 3 cups green cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup snap peas, trimmed
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 4 to 6 calamansi, halved, for serving
Method
- Soak the bihon in a bowl of room-temperature water for 8 to 10 minutes, just until the strands turn pliable but still have a slight bite. Drain in a colander and set aside. Do not oversoak or they will break and turn mushy in the pan.
- Season the chicken strips with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce and a pinch of pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large wok or wide pan over medium-high. Sear the chicken until cooked through and lightly browned, about 4 minutes, then lift it out onto a plate.
- Add the shrimp to the same pan and cook just until pink and curled, about 90 seconds per side. Remove and set with the chicken so it does not overcook.
- Pour in the remaining tablespoon of oil. Saute the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and stir-fry for 2 minutes, keeping the heat high so the vegetables stay bright.
- Add the cabbage and snap peas and toss for another 2 minutes until just wilted but still crisp. Scoop about a third of the vegetables out and reserve them for topping.
- Pour the hot broth into the pan with the soy sauce, oyster sauce if using, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer and taste: it should be a touch salty, since the noodles will drink it up.
- Add the drained bihon and use tongs to fold and lift the noodles through the liquid so every strand absorbs it. Keep tossing over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes until the broth is gone and the noodles are tender but not sticky.
- Return the chicken and shrimp to the pan and fold them through to warm, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust with more soy sauce if needed.
- Pile onto a large platter, scatter the reserved vegetables and green onions over the top, and tuck calamansi halves around the edge. Squeeze the calamansi over each serving at the table.
Pancit bihon is the noodle dish that shows up at every Filipino birthday, fiesta, and Sunday lunch, where the long strands stand for long life. It is a guisado, meaning everything is built on a quick saute of garlic and onion before the noodles go in. The thin rice vermicelli soaks up seasoned broth in the pan, so the flavor lives inside every strand rather than sitting in a sauce on top.
Most restaurant versions lean on pork, but bihon never needed it. Chicken thigh and shrimp carry plenty of savor, and a hot chicken broth does the rest. This is the pork-free version we make at Ayoko ng Baboy, and no one at the table misses a thing.
Cook’s notes
- The noodle soak is the whole game. Bihon should be soaked only until bendy, never fully soft. It finishes cooking in the broth, so soft-soaked noodles turn to paste. If your brand is very thin, cut the soak to 5 minutes and check often.
- Keep the pan hot and moving. Bihon can clump if it sits still. Use two utensils to lift and fold, the way you would toss a salad, so the strands separate and coat evenly.
- Broth is the only sauce. Add it in stages if your pan is small. The noodles are ready when the liquid is fully absorbed and the bottom of the pan is nearly dry.
- Swaps. Use tofu, more shrimp, or a firm white fish in place of chicken to keep it seafood-forward. Snow peas, green beans, or wood-ear mushrooms all work if you cannot find snap peas.
- Make-ahead. Prep and slice every vegetable and protein first, since the stir-fry moves fast once the pan is hot. Leftovers keep for two days and reheat well with a splash of broth to loosen them.
Calamansi at the table is not optional. That bright citrus squeeze cuts the richness and wakes the whole plate up. Serve pancit alongside a saucy main like Chicken Adobo or a sweet-and-sour Fish Escabeche for a proper spread.