Pancit Palabok

Today we will cook something really special, something we usually eat when we go to Market Market as one of the food stalls is preparing it very nicely. The dish is called Pancit Palabok, one of the many types of Pancit. Again, there are many, many recipes and I will not say that this one is the real one, but you have to know that this Pancit Palabok was extremely tasty.

The cooked rice noodles

The origin of Pancit is Chinese and it is called Palabok because of the orange colored, shrimp flavored sauce that is poured over the noodles. If you look in Chinese cuisine you won't find Palabok, that is truly Filipino

The Annatto Seeds in the water

I think for this recipe it is of utmost importance to really use good quality products, especially the smoked fish that goes in, only buy the best. (No, it is not the wild Norwegian salmon that goes in, but local sardines…….and they taste great just plain on their own) Then use the freshest prawns you can find, it is worth it and make sure the chicheron is really fresh, if you don’t make it yourself. That would be a lot of work, but I just want to emphasize how important the freshness of the ingredients is for this dish.

Ground Chicheron

The color of the sauce we get from Annatto Seeds, this makes the sauce look like it is a lobster sauce which sort of makes sense because there is the smoked fish and the shrimp with it, even so there is often as well beef or chicken stock in it, so the flavor is really intense

Smoked Fish

The chopped Garlic

The chopped onions

The boiled eggs

The cooked Prawns

Recipe

1 Packet Rice noodles (Pancit or Palabok Noodles)

Walter as per recipe given on packet

Sauce

Quarter cup Annatto seeds

Quarter cup Water

50 ml (2 oz) Oil

50 g (2 oz) Garlic

100 g (3.5 oz) Onions

150 g (5 oz) Ground Pork

200 ml (7 oz) Shrimp Juice (cube)

200 ml (7 oz) Pork stock

30 g (1 oz) Flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Topping

Cooked eggs

Cooked Shrimp (Prawns)

Tofu

Boiled Pork

Smoked Fish

Chicharon

Fried Garlic

Kalamansi (small limes from Philippines)

Method

Soak the rice noodles in water for about 15 minutes.
Drain and set aside.
Cook the sauce by heating a saucepan.
Pour-in the cooking oil.
When the oil is hot enough, put-in the ground pork, garlic and onions and cook for about 10 minutes
Dilute the annato seeds in pork broth then starin and pour the mixture in the saucepan.
Bring to a boil
Add the shrimp cube and stir and simmer for 3 minutes
Add the flour gradually while stirring.
Add the fish sauce and ground black pepper then simmer until sauce becomes thick.
Set aside.
Meanwhile, boil enough water in a pot.
Place the soaked noodles in a strainer (use metal or bamboo strainer) then submerge the strainer in the boiling water for about a minute or until the noodles are cooked. (make sure that the noodles are still firm) Remove the strainer from the pot and drain the liquid from the noodles.
Place the noodles in the serving plate.
Pour the sauce on top of the noodles then arrange the toppings over the sauce.
Serve with a slice of lemon or calamansi. Share and enjoy!