Filipino recipe

Pancit Bam-i (Cebuano Mixed Pancit)

Name: Pancit Bam-i
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients: 250 g Super Q Golden Bihon; 250 g Super Q Pancit Canton; 250 g pork belly, sliced thin; 200 g shrimp, peeled; 2 pieces Chinese sausage, sliced on the diagonal; 1 cup dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked and sliced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 medium onion, sliced; 2 medium carrots, cut into matchsticks; ¼ small cabbage, shredded; 1.5 liters (about 6 cups) pork or chicken broth; 4 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp oyster sauce; 2 tbsp cooking oil; Salt and ground pepper, to taste; Spring onions and calamansi wedges, to serve

Two noodles, one pan. The Cebuano pancit that tells everyone at the handaan you know what you are doing.

The Cebuano pancit that mixes bihon and pancit canton in one pan, with pork, shrimp and Chinese sausage. Two textures, one bilao.

Jump to recipe

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 30 min
Total: 55 min
Serves: 6 servings

A pack of Super Q Special Pancit Canton beside a plate of cooked pancit canton topped with vegetables

Bam-i is Cebu's own pancit, and the thing that defines it is using two noodles at once: fine bihon for the soft base and pancit canton for the chew. Our factory is in Talisay, just outside Cebu City, where bam-i is a staple.

The two noodles cook at different rates, which is the whole trick — the canton goes in first and the bihon follows.

Ingredients

250 g Super Q Golden Bihon
250 g Super Q Pancit Canton
250 g pork belly, sliced thin
200 g shrimp, peeled
2 pieces Chinese sausage, sliced on the diagonal
1 cup dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
2 medium carrots, cut into matchsticks
¼ small cabbage, shredded
1.5 liters (about 6 cups) pork or chicken broth
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp cooking oil
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
Spring onions and calamansi wedges, to serve

Instructions

1
Soak the mushrooms, not the noodles
Soak the dried wood ear mushrooms in warm water until soft, then slice. Keep both noodles dry: Super Q Golden Bihon needs no soaking and goes in straight from the pack.
2
Render the sausage and pork
Heat the oil and cook the Chinese sausage briefly to release its fat. Add the pork and cook until browned, then add the shrimp and cook just until pink. Remove the shrimp so it does not overcook.
3
Sauté and cook the vegetables
Add the garlic and onion to the same pan and cook until fragrant. Add the carrots, wood ear mushrooms and cabbage, toss for two minutes, then set the vegetables aside.
4
Build the sauce
Pour in the broth, add the soy sauce and oyster sauce, season, and bring to a boil. The broth covers both noodles: 1 liter for the 250 g of bihon, following the Super Q ratio, plus extra for the canton.
5
Cook the canton first
Add the Super Q Pancit Canton to the boiling sauce. It is the thicker noodle and needs the longer time — let it soften and take up some liquid before the bihon joins it.
6
Add the bihon
Add the Super Q Golden Bihon straight from the pack. Let it boil for 4 minutes before you start loosening it, then fold the two noodles together with tongs. Add a little more broth if the pan goes dry.
7
Finish
Return the vegetables and shrimp, toss through, and take the pan off the heat while both noodles still have bite. Serve with spring onions and calamansi.

Tips

The ratio is a matter of household preference. Equal parts bihon and canton is a good starting point; adjust toward whichever texture your family likes.

Add the shrimp back at the very end. Shrimp cooked twice turns rubbery.

Cooking it for someone you love

Dating someone from Cebu? Learn bam-i. Turning up to their family handaan with the right pancit says more than any speech.

Bam-i is generous by design: two noodles, plenty of toppings, enough for the whole table. It is a dish for people you want to feed well.

Selling it: bam-i pang-negosyo

Bam-i sells on looks. Two noodle textures and colourful toppings make a bilao that photographs well, which matters when your orders come from Facebook and Messenger.

Cook the canton first and the bihon second, so both are right when the order goes out.
Post a photo of every bilao you send. Your customers are your best advertising.

Buying noodles in bulk for your business? See wholesale and distributor orders.