Palabok is a staple at Filipino parties. It’s a rice noodle dish mixed in a sauce made with pork and shrimps and toppings such as hard-boiled eggs, crushed pork chicharon, tinapa flakes, and crispy bits of garlic.
1 500-gram pack palabok noodles (thin rice noodles)
1/4 cup pork broth
1 tablespoon atsuete (annatto)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
½ kilo ground pork
1/4 kilo shrimp, cooked and deshelled
1 cup squid (pusit), cooked
3½ cups pork broth
3 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
pepper, to taste
hard-boiled eggs, for toppings
tinapa flakes, for toppings
pork chicharon, ground for toppings
spring onions, for toppings
crispy garlic bits, for toppings
1 Cook the palabok noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2 Dissolve atsuete in 1/4 cup pork broth, strain out the seeds. Add cornstarch and mix until completely dissolved. Set aside.
3 Heat cooking oil in a wok and saute garlic and onions.
4 Add ground pork and cook for 5 minutes or until the pork turns brown. Add the shrimps and squid. Stir-fry until combined.
5 Add the pork broth and atsuete-cornstarch mixture. Mix until well-combined and cook until sauce has reduced.
6 Add the cooked palabok noodles and toss until the noodles are coated with the sauce.
7 Transfer palabok into a serving plate. Top with hard-boiled egg, tinapa flakes, pork chicharon, spring onions, and crispy garlic bits.
