I cooked this last weekend. It's been a slack Sunday for me. Maybe not, but I have been meaning to cook this for a long time so I tried to pick a good time. Back in the Philippines, I would patiently pound the shrimp heads and shells with pestle and mortar to extract the needed taste for my sauce. I would also extract the color off the atsuete seeds, never mind if the colors stuck to my fingernails for a week even if I washed them ten times.
Now, I could hardly find atsuete here. The shrimps come deveined or shelled and Mama Sita's Palabok Mix come in boxes. The instructions on how to cook palabok of course are found at the back of the packet. If you followed the instructions, sure you will come up with a palabok but not as good as mine (**wink**). I do more than what is at the back of the packet.
For four people, these is what you need:
1 pack (250 gms) of Palabok Noodles
2 tbsp of olive oil
½ to 1 lb of lean ground pork
1 cup of coarsely chopped shrimps
1 pack Mama Sita Palabok Mix
1 pack of Chicharon, finely crushed
4 boiled eggs, sliced
1 (about 200 gms) pack of flaked tinapa
8 calamansi
Patis to taste
1/8 cup of finely chopped garlic
Green onions sliced finely
Boil the Palabok Noodles in six cups of water for about 15 minutes. I want my noodles really cooked. Drain noodles and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a pan and brown the ground pork. Set aside. In the same pan, add the remaining oil and sauté the garlic until brown. Set aside. In the same pan, cook the tinapa flakes for about 3 minutes. I have a feeling that the tinapa was not cooked so I want to be safe. I do not put oil on this because the flakes absorb a lot of oil. If you wish, you might want to add a bit. I set it aside in a separate bowl. In the same pan, roast the chicharon for a few minutes to give your palabok a crunch. Set aside.
In the same pan, put the browned ground pork and the shrimps. Cook for about 1 minute. Mix the palabok mix per packaging instruction and add to the ground pork. Let it boil gently and stirring constantly to avoid the mix from forming into lumps. Your sauce should be smooth. Turn off your stove and add half of all the ingredients you set aside earlier. The rest are saved for garnishing. Mix the sauce with the noodles and pour in a serving platter. Top with the saved garnishing and green onions. Add a zing to it with calamansi. Sarap!
Now, I could hardly find atsuete here. The shrimps come deveined or shelled and Mama Sita's Palabok Mix come in boxes. The instructions on how to cook palabok of course are found at the back of the packet. If you followed the instructions, sure you will come up with a palabok but not as good as mine (**wink**). I do more than what is at the back of the packet.
For four people, these is what you need:
1 pack (250 gms) of Palabok Noodles
2 tbsp of olive oil
½ to 1 lb of lean ground pork
1 cup of coarsely chopped shrimps
1 pack Mama Sita Palabok Mix
1 pack of Chicharon, finely crushed
4 boiled eggs, sliced
1 (about 200 gms) pack of flaked tinapa
8 calamansi
Patis to taste
1/8 cup of finely chopped garlic
Green onions sliced finely
Boil the Palabok Noodles in six cups of water for about 15 minutes. I want my noodles really cooked. Drain noodles and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a pan and brown the ground pork. Set aside. In the same pan, add the remaining oil and sauté the garlic until brown. Set aside. In the same pan, cook the tinapa flakes for about 3 minutes. I have a feeling that the tinapa was not cooked so I want to be safe. I do not put oil on this because the flakes absorb a lot of oil. If you wish, you might want to add a bit. I set it aside in a separate bowl. In the same pan, roast the chicharon for a few minutes to give your palabok a crunch. Set aside.
In the same pan, put the browned ground pork and the shrimps. Cook for about 1 minute. Mix the palabok mix per packaging instruction and add to the ground pork. Let it boil gently and stirring constantly to avoid the mix from forming into lumps. Your sauce should be smooth. Turn off your stove and add half of all the ingredients you set aside earlier. The rest are saved for garnishing. Mix the sauce with the noodles and pour in a serving platter. Top with the saved garnishing and green onions. Add a zing to it with calamansi. Sarap!
What you should know about why I had my certain way of preparing this dish: Others use sliced pork but you know the people who get from the serving bowl first pick the sahog and if you happen to be the last one to be served, you will be left only with the noodles. It doesn’t happen in our family but because I love bringing this in potlucks where it usually happens, I got used to using ground pork. Also, I mix the noodles with the sauce because of the same reason I mentioned earlier. Some do not want the fat that goes with the Chicharon. In my case I separate a bowl for me without the Chicharon.
6 comments:
Ops, FYI, I am not following a certain diet(ie south beach, no carb, etc.). I watch my food intake instead. I don't want to deprive myself. Rather I want to control what I can eat and how much I eat. Moderation!
Besides, why deny my family something that they ought to enjoy?
Ang sarap. Oh drat! I'm drooling on my keyboard now!
I made this also several mths ago because a friend gave me smoked herring (kipper) and I thought I could use it in place of tinapa. I also use ground pork when bringing it in potlucks but have sliced pork and tokwa when serving to family.
Definitely I'm getting bloated just by bloghopping in foodsites like yours. hehehe!
I miss palabok! Too bad I have not even had the opportunity to go to the nearest Filipino store (which is 2 hours away from my house)!
I know what you're saying Manang. When we went to Florida last year, my Uncle had to travel for about an hour and a half to get to a Filipino store. Kaya naman pakyaw ang ginawa niya. I am just a few blocks away kaya I have the luxury. Our Filipino veggies either come from Hawaii or Stockton, Calif.
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