Pancit Palabok

[Mree]

Anyone, anyone ANYONE have a good - true to Pampanga - recipe for this pancit? It's a Filipino noodle dish. My mother only makes the kind with the thick noodles, the recipe I want is for the glass noodles. I've made it before, but it always seems to be missing something.
Thanks, in advance, folks.

 

[kitchenelf]

Hi Mree - welcome to Discuss Cooking!

What recipe do you use? That will help maybe in finding the missing ingredient - also, couldn't you just substitute the glass noodles for thicker noodles? Looking forward to seeing your recipe first.

 

[marmalady]

Hi, Mree - I just did a 'google' search for your dish, and came up with a ton of recipes that were all a little different - have you tried that?

 

[wasabi]

Mree, are you a Filipina? I'm half Filipino. half Puerto Rican.

 

[Mree]

Kitchenelf - I know I may be missing an authentic thing here or there, like "annato seed", so I try to make due and it "just ain't the same....".

I've asked my Tia's to help me, but then they start going ooooon in Tagalog and everything is measured in kilos and "handfuls".

Wasabi - Oo! I'm part Filipina, part Castillana and part Irish.

Do you measure the water in your rice by the lines in your fingers???

 

[mudbug]

Do you measure the water in your rice by the lines in your fingers???

I gotta know about this. Tell me more!

 

[Mree]

Oh Lawdy, you're gonna crack up. Okay - no kidding, this is the ONLY way I know how to make steamed rice (thanks, Mom).

Growing up in my house, my mom being a Spaniard AND an Asian, we ate rice the same way most Americans eat bread or potatoes....WITH EVERY MEAL. That being the case, we always had a rice cooker going.

Anyway, this is how we make rice, simply put: Load up the tin bowl with rice (eyeballing the amount with respect to how many people will be eating AND if you're gonna need alot or a little the next morning for the fried rice that goes with breakfast). Then you hold the bowl under the faucet, rinse the rise, pour out the water, rinse the rice...... you did this about5 or six times until the water runs pretty clear and you've spotted all the unmentionables and removed them (little pebbles, plastic fibers from the bag the rice came in, grass, etc....) side note: when you buy rice by the FIFTY POUND BAG, it does come with its share of "unmentionables".

When the water runs clear and you've strained all the water, you add new water slowly and hold your hand in there so the tip of your finger stands on the table of rice and you stop filling with water with the water line meets up with the top line on your middle finger.

Now - if you've added sticky rice? You gotta go to the SECOND line on your middle finger.

Real scientific huh? *giggle*

 

[mudbug]

I love it! thanks for the explanation. I used to have a rice cooker, but it seemed to be just as fast if not faster to make it in a pan on the stove. Maybe we don't eat enough of it to warrant a bigger steamer.

The "home" techniques for cooking seem to becoming a lost art and I for one think they are usually just as good as "modern" ones. Seems like our moms and grandmas did pretty well without them!

 

[Mree]

I have to agree, Mudbug. That's why I really am wondering how come some of my dishes are just "missin' that thang", you know?

Maybe the ingredient I'm missing isn't an ingredient after all......I need to start measuring more in "handfuls" than cups, I would imagine.

 

[Psiguyy]

The way I was taught was to measure the depth of the rice and put that same amount of water OVER the rice. In other words, an inch of rice is covered with an inch of water. This means you're actually using more water than rice, since water fits between the grains.

 

[kitchenelf]

Mree - I'm Hungarian and I measure rice the same way! LOL - Of course it was my Japanese MIL that taught me how to do this! It works EVERY time!

I'll be back a little later to go over some ingredients - got stuff on the stove right now!

 

[wasabi]

Do you measure the water in your rice by the lines in your fingers???

Mree, Is there any other way, lol? I grew up cooking rice that way, and yes we do eat rice everyday.

 

[GaArt]

I've seen people on TV do that with rice.. I just do 2 to 1. 2 parts water, one part rice. Set it for 15 min after it comes to a boil and cover it.. then come back turn it off., fluff and recover for another 15 off heat.. works good.

Pancit.. My mom used to pay the Phillipino lady down the street to make us lumpia, pancit and babinka.

It was so good.

She used the glass noodles..

I never have found anything like the babinka she made. I've tried but I can't.

 

[Chopstix]

Hi Mree and Wasabi! I'm of Chinese origin born and raised in Manila! I still live in Manila though maybe not for long. Kumusta kayo diyan??!!

Mree, pancit palabok is one of my favorite local foods! I'd really like to help you with that missing ingredient. Could it be the shredded dried salted fish or the pork cracklings that are sprinkled on top of the pancit palabok? Or the kalamansi juice that's drizzled on it? Or the sliced squid garnish? It would really help if you can post your recipe. Annato seeds to my knowledge don't lend much flavor even though they produce that glorious orange color. So it must be something else...

 

[Mree]

Magandang umaga, Chopstix!!!!!!

You still live in Manila right now? How is it out there? My family is out in the provinces; Tarlac.

To answer your question, believe it or not, I'm not a salted fish fan (this is blasphemy, I know, but I cannot even eat bagoong!!!!! Please don't hate me, I just can't do it). As for the chicharones, I tend to leave that off, as well - although my mom cannot eat it WITHOUT.
I could VERY WELL be missing the kalamansi and the squid, however!

But, in all honesty, maybe it's my noodles! Do you use mung bean noodles? That's what I've been using. THAT and, don't laugh, I just can't get it to the right "taste" level and the noodles don't turn dark orange like I'd like them to. SO, given your wise words, it MUST be the annato seeds I'm missing, at least for the coloring.

What kind of oil do you use in the noodles, Chopstix? Mine just don't seem to be slippery enough.

I've actually been reduced to buying and making packages of (don't hate me) Lucky brand instant Pancit. *sobs into apron*

I'll dig up my recipe and post it.....

 

[Chopstix]

Hi Mree! Y'know, I've never ever made Pancit Palabok in my whole life bec I can always order it at most local restaurants here. They all taste slightly different too because of the many variations there are.

So I found you a recipe from a local cookbook. I hope the taste turns out to your liking. It guides you on making the annato juice. You can replace the dreaded fish with sauted squid although I think the smoked fish flakes really give the dish its distinct flavor. Also it uses bihon noodles (made of rice or cornstarch). If you use mung bean noodles, just be sure it is of excellent quality. Depending on the quality of these noodles in the market, they can go from mushy and sticky to soft, chewy and slippery. My mom prefers the Japanese-branded mung bean noodles in all her cooking. Use lime or lemon juice if there's no calamansi. I guess you can use any neutral-tasting/smelling oil. Lastly, the shrimp juice or the dominant fried garlic taste might be what's missing from your dish. Good luck and tell me how it goes!

Here goes:

Pancit Palabok

Ingredients:

Cubed firm tofu, pre-fried
Peeled Shrimps, cooked
Tinapa or smoked cured fish, shredded finely
Chicharon, finely chopped
Garlic, finely chopped (lots of it)
Achuete or annato seeds soaked in a little amount of water
Shrimp juice (from shrimp heads and shell)s
Cornstarch slurry
Duck egg (or chicken egg)
Salt or patis (fish sauce)
Aligue (crab fat)
Noodles for Palabok (the thick ones) or bijon (rice noodles)
Green onions, finely chopped
Calamansi

Sauce:

Work the annato seeds in a little water with fingers to get the color out. Repeat for as long as there is color obtained from it or when you have enough colored water. Set aside.

Pound shrimp heads and shells, add water and strain to get juice. Brown the garlic. Set aside some for garnishing. Add the annato juice and shrimp juice. Let boil. Add cornstarch slurry and let boil. Add beaten duck’s egg in a stream, stirring the whole time. Season to taste. Add the aligue.

Noodles:

Boil water. Drop noodles in and cook until done. Do not overcook. Drain.
To arrange:

Putting it all together:

Arrange noodles on serving platter. Pour enough sauce to cover noodles. Arrange tofu, shrimp over the sauce and sprinkle with the tinapa and chicharon. Garnish with chopped green onions and browned garlic. Serve with calamansi juice and patis.