A classic Filipino noodle dish doused with a shrimp-based thick sauce and a generous amount of toppings such as shrimps, smoked fish flakes, boiled egg and fried garlic bits then finished off with a sprinkling of green onions and a slice of lemon.
1 454gpack pancit Bihon or Palabok noodles*see notes
3tablespoonsAtsuete oilrecipe below
3cupsshrimp brothrecipe below
3garlic clovesfinely minced
3cupschicken brothI used Better than Bouillon organic chicken base
½cupcornstarch mixed with ½ cup waterthickener
Patisfish sauce, to taste
Ground black pepperto taste
For the Toppings:
1lbhead-on shrimpspeeled & deveined (reserve heads and shells for the broth)
1pack firm tofucut into small cubes and fried until crisp
1cuptinapasmoked fish flakes
1cupchicharonpork skin cracklings, crushed
3hard boiled eggssliced thinly
Fried chopped garlicabout 1 head of garlic
½cupgreen onionsthinly sliced
1lemonsliced into wedges or use calamansi (calamondin), if available
Achuete (Annatto) oil:
¼cupcanola oil
2tablespoonsatsuete seeds
Shrimp broth:
1tablespoonoil
1onionchopped
2garlic cloveschopped
Heads and shells from 1 lb shrimpsreserve shrimp meat for topping
1teaspoonsea salt
3 ½cupswater
Instructions
To make the shrimp broth: Saute onion in oil. Add garlic once it’s translucent then in goes the shrimp heads and shells. Season with salt. Stir fry on medium high heat for 3 minutes. As it cooks, press and mash shrimp heads with the back of a wooden spoon to release its juices. Add water, bring to a boil and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Strain the broth using a fine sieve. Squeeze as much of the liquid as possible by pressing down the shrimp carcass with the back of a wooden spoon.
While the broth is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Poach the peeled shrimps in the broth for one minute then set aside. Fry the garlic in ¼ cup oil until golden and set aside. In the same oil, fry the tofu cubes until brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Next, saute the tinapa (smoked fish) flakes for 2 minutes just to warm it up. Place each topping in individual bowls/small plates for easier serving.
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Palabok noodles take longer to cook than Bihon.
To make Annatto oil: Add both the oil and the annatto seeds in a large pan. Slowly heat for about 5 minutes or until the color is released. Discard the seeds.
To make the Palabok sauce: Saute the minced garlic in annatto oil until softened (about 5 seconds) then add both the shrimp and chicken broth. Bring to a boil then slowly add the cornstarch mixture (water+cornstarch). Stir continuously while you bring it back to a boil then simmer (on lowest setting) for 2 minutes, Taste and add patis (fish sauce) and some freshly cracked black pepper, according to your preference.
To assemble: Place cooked noodles in a big serving platter/tray. Pour palabok sauce over the noodles. Arrange the toppings according to your preference then sprinkle some fried garlic bits and chopped green onions. Serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
*To cook Bihon noodles, simply add the dry noodles in some boiling water (enough to submerge it) and cook for about 2 minutes or until fully cooked and tender. If using palabok noodles, follow the instructions at the back of the packaging on how to cook.