Pancit Miki Bihon

Pancit Miki Bihon is a Filipino noodle dish that combines two types of noodles: miki (thick egg noodles) and bihon (thin rice noodles). It's typically stir-fried with a variety of ingredients such as vegetables, meat (often chicken, pork, or shrimp), and sometimes flavored with soy sauce, calamansi (Filipino lime), and other seasonings. The dish is popular in the Philippines and is often served during celebrations and special occasions. The combination of different textures from the two types of noodles gives it a unique taste. 

Ingredients

Miki Noodles

1 ⅓ cup unbleached bread flour (such as King Arthur) (about 5 3/4 ounces), plus more as needed

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 quarts plus 1/3 cup plus 5 teaspoons water (as needed), divided

2 tablespoons kosher salt

Bihon Noodles

1 (8-ounce) package bihon rice stick noodles (such as Excellent)

2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil (such as vegetable oil)

8 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 4 teaspoons)

3 tablespoons chicken stock

2 tablespoons fish sauce (such as Red Boat)

2 tablespoons soy sauce (such as Silver Swan)

Additional Ingredients

¼ cup neutral cooking oil (such as vegetable oil), divided

1 cup shredded Savoy cabbage (from 1 small [2-pound] cabbage), divided

1 large (3 1/2-ounce) carrot, peeled and cut into 1/8- x 1/8- x 2-inch strips (about 2/3 cup), divided

1 cup shredded cooked chicken (about 5 ounces), divided

2 teaspoons fish sauce (such as Red Boat), divided, plus more to taste

2 teaspoons soy sauce (such as Silver Swan), divided, plus more to taste

Lemon wedges, for serving

Thinly sliced scallions, fried chopped garlic (such as Maesri), fried shallots (such as Maesri), and chicken skin chicharrones, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Make the miki noodles:

Stir together flour and nutritional yeast in a medium bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup water. Add up to 5 teaspoons water as needed, 1 teaspoon at a time, stirring well to combine after each addition, until a shaggy dough forms and dry ingredients are just incorporated. (Dough should not be sticky.) Turn dough out onto a clean work surface, and knead until smooth and springy to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature until dough is slightly softer (touching it with a finger should leave an easy indentation), at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Unwrap dough, and cut in half. Set rollers of a pasta machine to widest setting. Working with 1 dough half at a time (keeping other half covered with plastic wrap), flatten dough using your hands to 1/3-inch thickness. Roll dough through pasta machine. Fold rolled dough in half crosswise, and reroll through pasta machine. Continue refolding and rerolling dough until it is as wide as the pasta machine (about 5 inches), 1 or 2 additional times. Once appropriate width is reached, continue rolling dough through pasta machine, reducing width of rollers 1 setting at a time, until dough has been rolled through setting 4 (spaghetti thickness, or fourth-thinnest setting), flouring dough as needed to prevent sticking. Cover rolled dough sheet with a towel. Repeat process with remaining dough half.

Attach a spaghetti cutter to pasta machine. Cut each rolled dough sheet crosswise into 6- to 8-inch-long sections. Pass each dough piece through cutter, flouring dough as needed to prevent sticking. (Alternatively, roll dough by hand to 1/16-inch thickness and cut into 1/8-inch-wide, 8-inch-long noodles.) Sprinkle cut noodles with flour, and place on a lightly floured rimmed baking sheet; Cover with a towel to prevent drying out. Repeat process with remaining dough pieces.

Bring remaining 2 quarts water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Stir in salt, and return to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice water, and set aside. Add miki noodles to boiling water; Cook, stirring occasionally, until noodles are just tender, 1 minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Using a fine wire-mesh strainer or a spider, remove noodles, and transfer to prepared ice bath. Let stand until cold, about 3 minutes. Drain well, and set aside.

Make the bihon noodles:

Soak noodles in hot water according to package directions until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well, and set aside. Heat oil in a 14-inch wok over medium-high. Add garlic and ginger; Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in noodles, chicken stock, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Reduce heat to medium; Cook, stirring often, until noodles absorb liquid and become tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons oil to wok; heat over medium-high. Add half of the cabbage (about 1/2 cup) and half of the carrot (about 1/3 cup). Cook, stirring constantly, until tender, about 30 seconds. Add half of the chicken, half of the miki noodles (about 1 1/2 cups), half of the bihon noodles (about 2 1/2 cups), 1 teaspoon fish sauce, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Cook, tossing often, until mixture is evenly combined and hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with additional fish sauce and soy sauce to taste. Transfer pancit to a larger plate.

Repeat cooking process with remaining oil, cabbage, carrot, chicken, miki noodles, bihon noodles, fish sauce, and soy sauce.

Serve pancit immediately with lemon wedges. If desired, garnish with scallions, fried garlic, fried shallots, and chicken skin chicharrones.

dles can be prepared through step 4 up to 1 hour in advance.