A specialty noodle dish in the Philippines smothered with a thick, golden shrimp sauce or other flavored sauce, and topped with: Shrimp, (the size and shell-on or shell-off depending on preference) Crushed or ground pork rind, chicharron, tinapa flakes, scallions, and fried garlic.

Palabok…alas! I’ve made this only once before—my favorite out of all the different type of pancit noodle dishes.With the Mama Sita’s sauce mix, I added ground pork and used pancit bihon (rice noodles) instead of the traditional palabok noodles, which is thicker; garnished with crushed pork rinds (chicharrón), soft-boiled eggs from our hens, chopped fresh green onions, toasted garlic, with lemon wedges for drizzling.

Tip: Adding a beaten egg to the sauce while cooking makes it tastier.

Cooking Time: 8 mins

Serves: 5-7

Main Ingredients: Noodles

Cooking Style: Boiled

Difficulty: Advanced

Ingredients:

• 1 pouch (57 g) Mama Sita’s Palabox Mix, dissolved in 3 cups (750 ml) of water (or stock, preferably organic)
• 2 tbsp (30 g) garlic, crushed
• 1 lb. ground pork (or can substitute with turkey or other preferred meat)
• ½ cup (125 g) Tinapa Flakes (Can be purchased at a Filipino/Asian Store)
• 8 cups (2 L) Water, 3 tbsp
• 45 Ml (3 Tbsp) Cooking oil, preferably olive oil
• 1 pack (227 g) Rice noodles (bihon)

Toppings:

• 2 to 3 pcs organic egg, hard-boiled & sliced
• Garlic, fried, 3 tbsp (15 g)
• Spring onions, chopped, ½ cup (15 g)
• Chichharón (Pork rinds), crushed, ½ cup (125 g)
• Calamansi (or lemon), sliced crosswise

Recipe Preparation:

1. Sauté garlic, half of the tinapa flakes; add-in ground pork (or turkey) and stir in the dissolved Mama Sita’s Palabok Mix. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.

2. Lower the heat and simmer until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Bring 2 liters of water and 2 tbsp cooking oil to a rolling boil and drop the noodles. Leave for 1 minute or until noodles are cooked.

4. Drain and rinse with cold water. Mix in 1 tbsp of cooking oil to prevent noodles from sticking.

5. Arrange the noodles on a platter or large baking dish. Pour the sauce over and garnish with boiled egg, toasted garlic, chopped spring onions, crushed pork rind, remaining tinapa flakes, and calamansi (or lemon) halves.Cook’s Notes:

• Adding meat, such ground pork, beef, turkey, etc. is optional, but certainly packs in more flavor and substance to the sauce, as a whole.
• Another alternative is using fried tofu as part of the variety of toppings you can use for this recipe.

The original recipe was inspired from Mama Sita’s official website.