Easy Pancit Palabok
Easy Pancit Palabok is the way to go if your looking for an easy to make noodle dish. A flavorful noodle recipe with shrimp sauce that Filipinos love. Try this homemade palabok recipe to fix your cravings!
This easy pancit palabok recipe is my go to every time I crave Jolibee’s. Rice noodles with thick amber shrimp sauce and various toppings like pork crackling, shrimps, boiled eggs, squid rings, spring onion and many more. It’s a Filipino household choice when it comes to pancit dishes like bihon and sotanghon guisado.
Palabok made easy
“Palabok” roughly translates to “assorted” because the dish has an assortment of toppings. It’s similar with pancit Malabon with the difference that the sauce in Malabon is already mixed in when served.
You can go crazy with ingredients you can place on top as long as it’s not too overpowering. That’s great and all, but it can also be time consuming to prepare different toppings. This palabok recipe is made simpler but still has that authentic pancit palabok taste that we all know and enjoy.
Why this recipe works
Its quick and easy to make without compromising the flavors!
Instead of using cornstarch to make the slurry, I used rice flour instead. By doing this, The sauce still maintains a thick yet pourable consistency even when cold. Unlike with cornstarch, the sauce becomes pasty and uninviting.
This Filipino noodle recipe uses simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.
The secret is in the sauce.
With all the toppings that you can put on the dish, none of it matters if you don’t get the sauce right. The bright amber hue comes from the annatto powder and the flavor usually come from shrimp broth. To make it more flavorful, I mixed in “hibe or hibi”. These are small dried shrimps that can be bought at Asian stores if you live abroad.
The secret ingredient is always LOVE
Other noodle recipe you may like:
Laksa noodle soup with its signature rich curry base that is flavorful and fragrant! Topped with tofu puffs, fish cakes, egg and beansprouts.
Pad Thai – stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as street food or at most restaurants in Thailand.
Japchae – a sweet potato noodle recipe filled with beef, vegetables & tons of flavor!
Easy Pancit Palabok
Ingredients
- 250 grams rice noodles
Palabok Sauce
- 1 cup ground pork
- 1 cup hibi or small dried shrimps (or fresh small shrimps)
- 1 tbsp annatto powder
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 2-3 tbsp cooking oil
- ⅓ cup fish sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 shrimp cube
- 6 cups water
- 4 tbsp rice flour
Toppings
- 3-4 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
- 1 cup chicharon / pork cracklings (crushed)
- ¼ cup spring onions (chopped)
- 5-6 pcs calamansi (halved) (or lemon slices)
Instructions
Cooking the rice noodles
- Soak the rice noodles in cold water for at least 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- When ready to serve, just blanch the noodles briefly—1 to 2 minutes—in boiling water.
Making the sauce
- In a medium pan heat oil over low heat. Tip in ground pork and cook for approx. 5 minutes or until browned.
- Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent. Add annatto powder and mix well until incorporated.
- Mix in the hibi (small dried shrimps), stir and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. After simmering, add fish sauce, salt, pepper, shrimp cube then mix well to incorporate.
- Make the slurry by mixing the water and rice flour then add gradually into the sauce. Cook for about 3-4 minutes while stirring until sauce is thick. Taste and adjust according to preference. Remove from heat.
Assembly
- Place cooked rice noodles in a plate then pour sauce. Place 2 slices of hard boiled egg, add crushed chicharon and sprinkle some chopped spring onion.
- Serve with a slice of calamansi or lemon. Bon appetit!
