Pancit Palabok
Who doesn’t love a good noodle dish? Pancit, or noodles, can be found fresh in open air markets and various supermarkets. Local restaurants each have their own spin on various Filipino noodle dishes. Eateries with special emphasis on noodles are often called panciterias. Each panciteria will offer their own version of Pancit Palabok. This is a dish of Chinese origin with a distinct Filipino flavor. The ever present bihon, or rice noodles, covered with a thick shrimp sauce with garlic, onion, pork, annato (an orange peppery spice frequently found in southeast Asian cuisine), and fish sauce. It is left to thicken and then tossed with the noodles.
In this dish, it’s all about the toppings. Common ones include cooked shrimp, tinapa (smoked fish) flakes, chicharon (pork rinds), hard boiled eggs, fried minced garlic, tofu, scallions (green onions), and lemon juice. Some chefs prefer calamansi juice, often called the Philippine lime or calamondin. Many of these items can be found in a local Asian market. These flavors are all traditionally Filipino – the brightness of the lemon pairs well with the saltiness of the chicharon and tinapa. The richness of the shrimp sauce cut by the green onion. There’s also a mix of textures – you get a lovely crunch from the tinapa and chicharon while the egg is soft and creamy. Southeast cuisine is all about using fresh ingredients and combining them in a way that highlights each flavor while creating cohesive contrasts. The end result? A delicious Pancit Palabok – a satisfying, quintessentially Filipino dish.
- 1 16 oz pack Cornstarch Sticks (Palabok)
- Sauce
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 medium sized onion, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ lb ground pork
- 1 tbsp anatto powder
- 1 egg
- 5 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 shrimp cube
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- salt to taste
- Toppings
- ½ cup fried fish balls (optional)
- 2 pieces fried tofu, sliced
- 10-15 pieces shrimp, cooked
- ½ cup tinapa flakes
- 3 hard boil eggs, sliced
- ½ cup chicharon, crushed
- 3 stalk green onions, chopped
- In a large bowl, submerge palabok noodles in water for 12-15 minutes. Drain and set aside
- Pour cooking oil into warm saucepan
- Saute garlic and onions until soft
- Add ground pork and cook for 6-8 minutes
- In a small bowl, combine the annato powder and chicken broth. Pour mixture into saucepan and boil
- Add shrimp cubes and simmer for 2-3 minutes
- Stir in flour
- Add raw egg and mix
- Add fish sauce, ground black pepper, salt, and simmer until sauce is thick. Set aside
- In a different cooking pot, boil enough water for palabok noodles
- Once boiling, add palabok noodles until cooked
- Drain water from noodles
- Put noodles on serving plate
- Pour sauce on noodles
- Over the sauce, add all toppings
- Serve with lemon or calamansi
Serves: 4-5
Time: 1:00
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