How To Cook Pancit Palabok

Pancit Palabok

Pancit Palabok is a native Filipino pasta dish made with boiled rice noodles covered in a tasty red sauce made of ground meat, flavored with shrimp, colored with achuete extract and topped with meat strips, boiled shrimps, sauted tofu, cooked squids, toasted flaked smoked fish, crushed pork crackling, fried chopped garlic, crispy fried native onions and garnished with egg slices and chopped green onions.

Pancit Palabok is also known as Pancit Luglug or Pancit Malabon but the tastes are similar and differ only with slight addition or omission of  one or two ingredients, the basic preparation is almost the same.

The Pancit Palabok I grew up with uses fresh noodles which are thicker and made fresh daily by a family in my home town. The recipe I am providing here uses any form of rice noodle available in your neighborhood, satisfaction is guaranteed using the ingredients suggested. 

Here is how I cook my Pancit Palabok.

Prepare The Palabok Noodles

• 500 grams palabok noodles (dry palabok noodles)
• Soak the noodles in water to soften for at least 10 minutes
• Boil the soaked noodles, stirring twice until tender
• Turn off heat and leave the noodles in hot water for 30 minutes to 1 hour
• Drain the noodles and transfer to a large serving pyrex or bilao lined with banana leaves or aluminum foil. Here you can pour the sauce, garnish with toppings and serve with your favorite patis (fish sauce) with calamansi.

Palabok Noodles

Cook The Palabok Sauce

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Cooking oil
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped

1 red onions, chopped
300 grams chicken meat chopped
4 cups shrimp broth (from the shrimp heads and shells)
1 piece Knorr chicken cubes cubes
1 cup achuete extract (use magic atchuete, 1 Tablespoon per cup of water)
3 Tablespoons Patis
3 Tablespoons Flour, dissolved in 1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

• Saute in oil the garlic, onions and the chicken.
• Add the achuete water.
• Add 6 cups shrimp broth.
• Add the Knorr chicken cubes.
• Add 3 Tablespoons Patis.
• When mixture starts boiling, slowly add the dissolved flour and cornstarch to thicken the sauce, stirring well for 10 minutes. You may use other thickening starch like ground rice, only flour or only cornstarch, or both.
• Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Remove from fire and pour all over the cooked noodles. 

Red Sauce for Pancit Palabok

Prepare the Toppings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup crispy fried garlic

1/2 cup crispy fried shallots (sibuyas Tagalog)

1/2 cup steamed shrimp suaje meats, 300 grams fresh

2 pieces tokwa, chopped coarsely and sauteed in oil and flavored with salt and pepper

1/2 cup  pusit (squid), sauteed in oil, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice, 300 grams fresh 

1/4 cup flaked tinapa (smoked fish), toasted dry

1/2 cup chicharon, crushed finely

2 pieces hard-boiled eggs, sliced into rounds or wedges

2 pieces salted eggs, sliced thinly

1/4 c chopped green onions

6-10 pieces calamansi for serving

Toppings for Pancit Palabok

Assemble The Pancit Palabok

• Place the cooked noodles in a big serving platter.
• Pour sauce all over the noodles.
• Add the prepared toppings in this order: toasted tinapa flakes, flavored tokwa cubes, fried garlic, fried shallots, crushed chicharon, sauteed pusit, steamed and peeled shrimps, sliced boiled eggs and salted eggs. 
• Garnish with chopped green onions.
• Serve with lemon slices or calamansi and patis, (fish sauce).

Pancit Palabok Assembly

Share and Enjoy!

Pancit Palabok Family Size

Pancit Palabok Solo Size