Pancit Palabok

One of my favorite filipino snack is the pancit palabok. It is the filipino counterpart of the italian spaghetti. With its unique sauce and toppings it has an authentic filipino taste in it. The toppings itself are very pinoy, chicharon, hipon, tinapa, adobong pusit, and some palabok are made special according to the filipino taste. For me there is one topping or ingredient that cannot be removed in a pacit palabok and that ingredient is, the ever famous, crispy pork chicharon. The chicharon adds a crispy texture in every bite of the pancit palabok which will leave you craving for more. That is the one thing that I look for whenever I order palabok. Here is one of my favorite Palabok Recipes:

Palabok Noodles / Sauce

• 1/2 kilo miki noodles
• 1/2 kilo small crabs
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of atchuete seeds or oil
• 2 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)
• 4 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolved in water
• 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• 1 1/2 cups of water

Palabok Toppings

• Tinapa flakes (smoked fish)
• Cooked shrimps, shelled
• Squid adobo, sliced into rings
• Pork chicharon, grounded
• Spring onions, chopped
• Hard boiled eggs, shelled, sliced
• Fried garlic, minced
• Fresh calamansi (lemon), sliced

 Directions:

• Extract fat and meat from clean crabs, set aside.
• Pound crab and extract juice on 1 1/2 cups of water
• On a pan, sauté garlic and onions until golden brown then add crab fat, crab meat, 1 1/2 cups of crab wash, patis and MSG. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add corn starch and continue to simmer while constantly stirring until thick.
• Put miki noodles in a strainer and dip in boiling water for 5 minutes or until cooked.
• Lay drained noodles on a platter and pour the palabok sauce. Garnish with toppings and serve.