Pancit is one of the most popular Filipino dishes, and is commonly served at Filipino birthday parties to signify long life. This recipe is called pancit bihon, and it is made with vermicelli noodles, stir-fried veggies, and meat. I really recommend using a Veggie Bullet for the vegetables. Let’s get started!
Ingredients:
- 250 g vermicelli noodles
- 1 quarter of a large onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 8 Chinese green beans
- 1 large carrot
- 2 ½ celery stalks
- ¼ small cabbage
- 1 pack of chicken thighs (~1.25 lb)
- Cooking oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 cups of water
- 4 small chicken broth packets
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 lemon
- Chopped green onions to garnish
Directions:
- Submerge your vermicelli noodles in hot water for at least 10 minutes. To prevent it from soaking up more water later, try to let it soak for longer.
- Chop up your quarter onion. Take the garlic cloves, smash them, remove their skins, and dice them. Set aside.
- Take the Chinese green beans and cut off the ends. Slice them into small, bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
- If you have a Veggie Bullet, great! Shred your carrot, celery stalks, and cabbage. If not, no worries! This will take a bit longer, but slice these vegetables into thin shreds. Set aside.
- Take your chicken thighs and slice them into bite-sized chunks.
- Take a large pan and saute the garlic and onions in some oil until the onions are translucent. Add your chicken and season it with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until it is only half-cooked, and set aside in a separate bowl.
- Oil the pan again and throw in the green beans. Cook for a few minutes (these take a little longer to cook), and then follow it up with the rest of the vegetable mixture. Cook this for a bit and then season it with pepper and just a little bit of salt. Add in a tablespoon of fish sauce, and then add the half-cooked chicken into the pan. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- Drain the vermicelli noodles. Take a pair of scissors and cut the noodles into shorter strands, a little under a foot long each. Dump these noodles into the pan with all of the other ingredients, and mix them together well. Set aside.
- To make the broth, combine the 2 cups of water, chicken broth packets, and 1 tbsp of fish sauce. Whisk these together well.
- Turn on the stove again to heat up the pan of ingredients, and pour in the broth. Let the pancit simmer and allow the noodles to soak up the liquid for about 15 minutes.
- Drizzle soy sauce all over your pancit (about 4 tbsp) and mix it thoroughly. This may take a bit of arm strength! Taste it, and if it’s not salty enough, add a bit more of either soy sauce or fish sauce.
- Grab a whole lemon and squeeze it all over the pancit, and mix, mix, mix! Try the noodles to make sure they are cooked and easy to chew. Now you’re ready to serve!
Garnish this pancit with green onions and enjoy it on its own, or serve it with another entrée! This was a lot of ingredients, but pancit is so delicious and so worth trying! 🙂