Easy Palabok

Palabok is usually something I prepare for parties and family gatherings, but I also enjoy making it when we’re just craving a good plate of noodles. The combination of a rich orange sauce, shrimp, boiled eggs, and plenty of chicharon and toasted garlic is what I enjoy most about this dish. This easy palabok recipe reminds me of the version served at a popular Filipino fast-food chain, and it’s a simpler way to make something just as satisfying at home.

This recipe came about when someone asked me how to make palabok using ingredients that are easy to find. I decided to use thin bihon instead of the thicker noodles in my regular pancit palabok recipe. Bihon only needs to soak in hot water, which makes preparation more convenient. The sauce is also prepared differently. Rather than making a separate slurry, I cook the flour with the ground pork and tinapa before gradually adding the annatto water.

Tinapa remains an important ingredient because it gives the sauce its distinct smoky flavor. The result is a rich palabok sauce that goes well with the thin noodles and all the toppings. Once everything is ready, assemble the palabok just before serving so the sauce is hot and the chicharon and toasted garlic are still crisp.

What is Easy Palabok?

Easy palabok is a Filipino noodle dish made with bihon and a thick orange sauce flavored with ground pork, tinapa, and shrimp seasoning. The sauce is poured over the noodles, then topped with cooked shrimp, boiled eggs, chicharon, toasted garlic, and green onions.

Unlike stir-fried pancit, the noodles are not tossed in the sauce while cooking. You assemble each plate just before serving. Pancit Malabon and Pancit Luglug are related noodle dishes, although they use thicker noodles and have differences in how they are prepared.

Why This Easy Palabok Recipe Works

• Bihon instead of palabok noodles – A 12 to 15 minute soak in hot water and the noodles are done. No boiling and no overnight soak. Check a strand before draining because brands vary.
• The flour cooks with the pork and tinapa – Five minutes over low to medium heat, stirring so it does not stick, and the raw flour taste is gone before the annatto water goes in. Keep stirring as you add the annatto water so the sauce stays smooth.
• Tinapa in the sauce, not just on top – I think tinapa is one of the most important parts of a palabok sauce. Cooking it with the pork puts that smoky flavor into the sauce itself.
• Shrimp Cube (bouillon) – It gives the sauce a solid shrimp flavor without boiling shrimp heads for broth. Stir it in after the annatto water, then patis and white pepper to taste.

Easy Palabok Ingredients

• Bihon – Thin rice stick noodles, soaked rather than boiled. The traditional thicker cornstarch palabok sticks work too, but they need a longer soak and a boil.
• Ground pork – Sauteed until lightly browned before the tinapa and flour go in.
• Tinapa flakes – Smoked fish flakes. I buy mine already flaked and frozen from the Filipino store, so there are no bones to deal with.
• Annatto water – Boil 1/4 cup of annatto seeds in 2 1/4 cups of water, strain out the seeds, and top up with water to make 2 cups. It colors the sauce orange. These are the same seeds I use for annatto oil.
• All-purpose flour – Thickens the sauce. Add it gradually and keep stirring so it coats the pork and tinapa with no dry spots.
• Onion and garlic – Minced onion and crushed garlic go in first. I like the garlic somewhat toasted, so I cook it until it starts to brown.
• Knorr Shrimp Cube – The shrimp flavor of the sauce. It goes in at the end.
• Cooked shrimp – Peeled, for the top. Raw shrimp can be boiled until pink and opaque.
• Boiled eggs – Peeled and sliced or quartered for the top.
• Chicharon – Crushed pork rinds. Add them right before serving so they stay crunchy.
• Toasted garlic – I make it from scratch by frying crushed garlic in oil, and that garlic oil goes into the sauce.
• Green onions – Chopped, for the top.
• Cooking oil – For sauteing. Canola, vegetable, or corn oil all work.
• Hot water – For soaking the bihon. It does not go into the sauce.
• Patis and ground white pepper – Season the sauce at the end. Add the fish sauce a little at a time and taste between additions.

1. Bring the water to a boil. Arrange the bihon in a wide, deep tray and pour in enough of the boiling water to submerge the noodles completely.
2. Soak for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a strand is tender. Drain and set aside.

1. Heat the cooking oil in a pot. Saute the garlic and onion until fragrant.
2. Add the ground pork and saute until lightly browned.
3. Stir in the tinapa flakes.
4. Gradually add the flour while stirring until fully incorporated. Continue cooking over low to medium heat for 5 minutes.

1. Gradually pour in the annatto water, stirring continuously until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. It should be smooth and thick enough to coat the noodles without becoming pasty.
2. Add the Knorr Shrimp Cube and stir until the cube dissolves. Season with fish sauce and ground white pepper to taste.

1. Arrange the drained bihon on serving plates and pour the palabok sauce over the noodles.
2. Top with cooked shrimp, boiled eggs, crushed chicharon, toasted garlic, and chopped green onions. Serve hot. Share and enjoy!

What to Serve with Easy Palabok

• Calamansi – Squeeze calamansi or lemon over the finished palabok right before eating.
• Lumpia – Fried pork lumpia. The two are often served together at parties and at merienda.
• Cheese Puto – Small steamed rice cakes. Puto with palabok is a common merienda pairing, and the mild cake goes well with the salty sauce.

Storage

Store the sauce, the noodles, and the toppings in separate containers so the noodles and chicharon keep their texture.

• Refrigerator: Keep the sauce and the soaked noodles in separate covered containers for up to 3 days. Refrigerate the cooked shrimp and eggs promptly, and use them within 3 to 4 days when properly refrigerated. Keep the dry chicharon separate at room temperature in an airtight container.
• Freezer: Freeze only the sauce, in portions. It keeps its quality best within 2 months. The noodles, boiled eggs, and chicharon do not freeze well, so prepare those fresh when you are ready to serve.
• Reheating: Warm the sauce in a pot over low heat and add water gradually, stirring, until it pours easily again and is heated through. Dip the bihon in hot water for a minute to loosen the noodles, drain, then plate and top the same way as a fresh batch.

More Pancit Recipes

• Crispy Palabok – Rice vermicelli deep fried until puffed and crisp, then topped with palabok sauce, shrimp, egg, and chicharon.
• Arroz Palabok – A lugaw version of pancit palabok, with the same sauce and toppings over rice porridge.
• Pancit Bihon Guisado – Bihon sauteed with pork and vegetables. The everyday pancit.
• Pancit Canton – Flour stick noodles with pork, shrimp, and vegetables in one pan.
• Garlic Bihon – Easy pancit bihon with lots of garlic.
• Pancit Habhab – The noodle dish from Lucban, Quezon, traditionally served on a piece of banana leaf.

• Bihon – Thick cornstarch palabok sticks or thick rice noodles. Soak them longer and boil until tender, following the package directions, since a hot-water soak alone will not soften them.
• Tinapa flakes – Any flaked smoked fish, or a drained can of smoked fish in oil. Leaving it out removes the smoky flavor that defines this palabok sauce, so the result tastes closer to a plain shrimp-flavored sauce.
• Annatto water – Pure annatto powder stirred into 2 cups of water. Start with 1 teaspoon and add more until the color looks right, since powders vary in strength and some are blended with other seasonings.
• Knorr Shrimp Cube – Another brand of shrimp bouillon cube. A chicken cube also works, and the sauce will have less shrimp flavor.
• Ground pork – Ground chicken also works. Cook it thoroughly before adding the tinapa and flour.
• Chicharon – Any crushed pork rinds. Toasted garlic alone also works on top if you have no chicharon.

I like serving palabok with plenty of sauce because the bihon tends to absorb it as you eat. Keep some extra sauce nearby so everyone can add more to their plate. I also make sure the chicharon and toasted garlic are added just before serving, while they are still crisp. You can prepare the noodles and sauce ahead of time, then put everything together when you are ready to eat. That way, everyone gets a freshly assembled plate with the sauce still hot and the toppings at their best.