Pancit is a must at Filipino birthdays, holidays, and pretty much any special occasion you can think of. For the longest time, my mom would make pancit bihon (think Filipino chow mein), because my dad likes it that way. There’s so many different kinds of pancit, but this one is made with rice noodles, veggies, and usually chicken or shrimp.
I was craving noodles (badly), and pasta wasn’t going to cut it. Luckily, I know myself so well that weeks earlier, I spontaneously ordered some groceries from 99 Ranch Market, the holy grail of Asian (and other international) grocery staples. They didn’t have flour stick — or dry flour noodles — so I settled for rice stick. I wasn’t planning on making pancit anytime soon, so it stayed in my cupboard until the craving hit. All I had were two giant bags of carrots and celery. No cabbage. No green beans. That wasn’t gonna stop me! If you’re trying to use up some produce or don’t want takeout, this budget-friendly Filipino dish is for you!
Pancit Bihon Recipe
Pancit Bihon
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ onion chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 lb rice stick
- salt
- pepper
- soy sauce
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot
- Add garlic, onion, carrots, and celery to the pot. Cook until softened
- Season to taste with salt and pepper
- Add the vegetable broth. Cover the pot and bring to a boil
- Once the broth is boiling, add the dry rice stick and mix until the liquid is absorbed
- Top with soy sauce for flavor and mix to incorporate
- Serve with additional soy sauce if desired
Notes
- For vegetable broth, I mix water with Better Than Bouillon Vegetable flavor. I find it to be more flavorful and less salty than the cartons, and it lasts way longer!
- The rice stick will most likely need to be added in batches, because the dry noodles can be hard to mix in at first. If needed, add more liquid but only if there’s no more liquid in the pot — you don’t want too much liquid!
- It’s really easy to over-salt, so be a little reserved when seasoning initially. That’s why I recommend adding more soy sauce to your individual serving, depending on your salt preferences.
