Pancit Palabok
Pancit Palabok is a classic Filipino dish with cornstarch noodles coated in a rich, savory shrimp based sauce and piled with toppings: fried garlic, smoked fish, pork belly, jammy eggs, scallions, and chicharron. It's the dish that shows up at every Filipino birthday and family reunion for a reason. This version walks you through each component step by step so you can make it at home.
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Equipment
- 2 large pots (for noodles and sauce)
- 1 small pot (for eggs)
- 1 small skillet or pan (for garlic and pork)
- 1 colander
- 1 slotted spoon or spider
- 1 whisk
- 1 serving platter
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1 pound shrimp heads and shells on
- Salt
- 2 teaspoons neutral oil
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- ½ onion roughly chopped
- 4 cups water
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon Achuete powder + 1 tablespoon of water until smooth to make achuete water.
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch + 6 tablespoons water to make the cornstarch slurry
For the noodles
- 8 ounces palabok noodles half of a Super Q packet
For the toppings
- Reserved poached shrimp from the stock (see instructions)
- ½ pound pork belly sliced
- Tinapa flakes smoked fish, about 1 cup flaked
- 3 eggs
- 4 cloves garlic minced (for frying)
- Chicharron pork rinds, crumbled, to taste
- 3 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice and extra sliced wedges for serving
Instructions
Prepare the Sauce
- Remove heads and shells and devein the shrimp. Season lightly with salt and set aside.
- In a pot over medium heat, add 2 teaspoons of neutral oil and sauté the shrimp heads and shells with 2 smashed garlic cloves and half of a roughly chopped onion for about 3 minutes, until the shells turn pink and fragrant. Add 4 cups of water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the stock and discard the shells. Return the liquid to the pot.
- Poach the shrimp in the hot stock for 2 to 3 minutes, until pink and curled. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate. These are your topping shrimp.
- To build the sauce, slowly stir in the cornstarch slurry (mixed 6 tablespoons of cornstarch and 6 tablespoons of water), the achuete water (mixed 1 teaspoon of achuete powder and 1 tablespoon of water), and 3 tablespoons of fish sauce. Taste and add more fish sauce if needed. Let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes. It will thicken up and that's exactly what you want.
Prepare the Noodles
- Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain through a colander and set aside.
Prepare the Toppings
- Jammy eggs: Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Gently lower in the eggs and boil for exactly 6 minutes. Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water and leave for at least 10 minutes. Peel and cut each egg into quarters lengthwise.
- Pork belly: Pat the pork belly dry with paper towels, season with salt, and slice. Pan fry over medium high heat until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Fried garlic: Mince 4 garlic cloves. Remove all but about ½ teaspoon of oil from the same pan you cooked the pork in and set over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry, stirring constantly, until golden. Remove and set aside.
- Prepare the other toppings: the sliced scallions, lemon wedges, poached shrimp from earlier, and the shredded smoked fish tinapa
Serve and Enjoy!
- Add the cooked noodles to a large bowl, pour the sauce over, and toss until everything is well coated. Transfer to a serving platter.
- Top with the fried garlic, smoked fish, pork belly, poached shrimp, sliced eggs, scallions, and crumbled chicharron. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
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Notes
- Prep all your toppings if possible. I have to admit that the toppings is what makes this dish a bit tedious. So if you have the time, you can make the toppings in advance.
- Taste your sauce as you go. Fish sauce varies by brand and everyone's palate is a little different, so start with 3 tablespoons and keep tasting until it's where you want it to be. The sauce should taste savory, slightly briny, and deeply umami.
- Don't skip the ice bath for the eggs. It stops the cooking immediately and makes them so much easier to peel. A fully hard boiled yolk works too if you prefer it, just boil for 10 minutes instead of 6.
- The chicharron goes on last. Add it right before serving so it stays crunchy. Once it sits in the sauce it will soften.
- Storage: Palabok is best eaten fresh, right after you've assembled it. If you have leftovers, store the noodles and sauce separately from the toppings if possible. Refrigerate in airtight containers for up to 2 days. Reheat the noodles and sauce gently on the stovetop with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. Add your toppings fresh when you're ready to serve again. I don't recommend freezing the assembled dish. The noodle texture changes too much. You can, however, freeze the sauce on its own for up to a month.
Nutrition
Calories: 337kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 231mg | Sodium: 1086mg | Potassium: 379mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 184IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 1mg
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