Pancit Bihon with Stir-Fried Ground Beef and Mixed Vegetables

Of all the Chinese influences to the Filipino Cuisine, I must say that noodles has been my most favorite since I was little. My mom used to cook all kinds of noodles common in the Philippines - bihon, canton, miki and sotanghon, in many different ways depending on what other ingredients are available in our refrigerator. I grew up having pancit (noodles) for lunch or dinner frequently, which could be chicken, seafood, pork or plain vegetable pancit. On special occasions, we usually have my mom's supreme pancit which has all the ingredients mentioned. But I don't remember her cooking it with beef. I am not sure if it's because beef takes longer to cook or because it is more expensive. Well, I guess it's the latter.  

The other week, the girls requested for Stir Fried Ground Beef with Mixed Veggies. Instead of serving it with rice, I thought of serving it with bihon noodles. Clarise and Cherlin both love anything noodles so I wasn't surprise when they both asked for a second serving. Ryan, on the other hand, is not a big fan of bihon, but I guess it was also good enough for him. The only thing he complained about is why I didn't cook more! :)

Before going to the recipe, let me announce the prize for our "Recreating PiTCC Recipes in Your Kitchen" Facebook Photo Contest! It will be a $50 Visa Gift Card and Lynn Alley's 50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker recipe book (worth $16.99). You don't need to be a blogger to join! This is open to all fans of Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner on Facebook. All you have to do is to submit a photo of any of our recipes that you recreated, and that's it. The photo with the most "likes" will win. For the complete contest details, just visit our Facebook Page! :)

And now, here's my Pancit Bihon with Stir-Fried Ground Beef and Mixed Vegetables recipe. Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday!!!

Ingredients:
*Serves 4-6

• 14 oz. bihon noodles (rice sticks), soaked for at least 15 minutes then drained
• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 thumb-sized ginger, minced
• 2 cups mixed vegetables
• 2 Knor beef cubes
• 1 cup water
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp Mirin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 Tbsp pure olive oil

Procedure:

1. In a wok or big skillet, stir fry garlic, ginger and onions in 2 Tbsp pure olive oil until onion is almost translucent.

2. Add ground beef. Stir fry until tender, about 10 minutes. Add one beef cube. Stir fry with beef until melted.

3. Add mixed veggies and mirin and stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove beef and vegetables from wok. Set aside. 

4. In the same wok, pour and heat up remaining olive oil. Add beef cube and saute until melted. Add water and soy sauce. Bring to a boil.

5. Add noodles and keep on tossing to loosen the noodles. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste. Cook until noodles are almost tender. Add more water to cook the noodles if necessary.

6. Add beef and mixed vegetables. Keep on tossing for about 3 minutes or until ingredients are well mixed and noodles are tender. Do not overcook. 

7. Remove from heat. Serve hot with soy sauce and lemon.