What is Filipino pancit, the noodle dish named one of the best stir-fries?

Pancit Malabon ranks 22nd in the TasteAtlas list, closely followed by the Bihon and Canton varieties

Pancit Malabon by popular Filipino bakery Goldilocks. Photo: @goldilocksph / Instagram

Three variations of Filipino pancit have made it to the 50 Best Stir-Fries in the World by TasteAtlas.

The term pancit refers to various noodle dishes in Filipino cuisine. Pancit Malabon, Pancit Bihon and Pancit Canton are the ones included in the list.

Pancit Malabon ranked 22nd with 4.2 stars, beating other famous stir-fries such as the chow mein from China and Singapore's kway teow.

The dish gets its name from its city of origin, Malabon – about 10km north of the Philippine capital Manila – that is known for its abundance of fresh seafood.

Pancit Malabon uses thick rice noodles with a shrimp-infused sauce. It is typically served with various seafood toppings such as squid and mussels, as well as hard-boiled eggs, pork crackling and dried fish flakes.

“Like other pancit varieties, this local favourite is also traditionally served on special occasions,” the international food database writes on its website.

Pancit Bihon came in 34th place with four stars. Perhaps the most famous variant of pancit, it uses thin translucent rice noodles infused with soy sauce. It comes with sliced pork or chicken and various vegetables, and is served with a light squeeze of calamansi or lemon.

The third type is Pancit Canton, ranking 36th with 3.9 stars. The dish is mostly prepared the same as the Bihon variation, but it uses thin yellow wheat noodles cooked with meat, seafood and vegetables. The sauce is a mixture of soy and oyster.

Aside from its flavours and easy preparation, pancit holds some cultural value among Filipinos, who believe that serving the dish at birthday parties brings a long and prosperous life for the celebrant.

Topping the TasteAtlas list is phat kaphrao from Thailand with a 4.8 rating. The traditional dish combines meat or seafood with holy basil and other ingredients such as shallots, garlic and chilli peppers.

According to the food database: “The dish is flavoured with soy sauce, sugar and fish sauce and typically comes served with rice, a fried egg and fish sauce on the side.”

Coming in second is South Korean's dak galbi (4.7 rating), followed by tibs from Ethiopia (4.6 rating) and Peruvian dish lomo saltado (4.5 rating). China's beef chow fun (4.5 rating) rounds out the top five.