Lola’s Palabok
Ingredients
For the dish
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½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined — keep the shells, apo, they will give us a beautiful, sweet broth
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3 cups seafood stock — if you don’t have, you can use chicken or pork stock
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8 ounces palabok or bihon noodles
For the sauce
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Half of the cooked shrimp, minced very finely
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2 tablespoons tinapa flakes (smoked fish flakes)
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2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
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1 tablespoon annatto powder
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½ teaspoon black pepper
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½ teaspoon sugar
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2 tablespoons cooking oil (coconut oil is nice if you have)
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1 medium onion, chopped
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2 tablespoons minced garlic
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½ pound ground pork
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Reserved seafood stock from earlier
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Cornstarch slurry (1½ tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water)
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Salt, to taste
For the toppings
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Chicharon, crushed
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Scallions, chopped
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Lemon wedges, or calamansi if you have
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The other half of the boiled shrimp, kept whole
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Hard-boiled eggs, sliced
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Extra tinapa flakes
How to Cook
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Cook the shrimp first
Apo, bring your seafood stock to a gentle boil. Put in all the shrimp and let them cook just until they turn pink — only 1 to 2 minutes so they stay tender. Take them out right away. -
Save and prepare the shrimp
Slice half of them very finely for our sauce later. Keep the other half whole for our toppings. -
Make our broth richer
Put the shrimp shells back into the stock and let it simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes. This will make our broth taste like the sea. After 10 minutes, remove the shells and keep the broth aside. -
Start the sauce
In a large pan or wok, heat the oil. Sauté the onions first until they become soft and smell sweet. Add the garlic and let it cook until it is fragrant but not burnt. -
Cook the pork
Put in the ground pork, breaking it into small pieces with your spoon. Cook until there is no more pink. -
Add the flavorings
Now add the minced shrimp, tinapa flakes, fish sauce, annatto powder, black pepper, and sugar. Stir gently so the colors and flavors come together. -
Finish the sauce
Pour in our shrimp broth from earlier and the cornstarch slurry. Let it simmer gently until it becomes thick, about 8 to 10 minutes. Taste it and add salt if it needs more. Remember, apo, taste is very important. -
Prepare the noodles
While the sauce is cooking, soak and boil your noodles following the package instructions. When they are soft, drain them and rinse quickly with cold water so they stay nice and chewy. -
Assemble your palabok
Place noodles on a big serving plate. Pour the sauce generously on top. Arrange the whole shrimp, eggs, chicharon, scallions, and extra tinapa flakes. Put the lemon or calamansi on the side. -
Serve with love
When you serve this, apo, make sure to tell your family to squeeze the lemon before eating. It makes the flavor bright and fresh. And always serve it warm, so everyone feels the comfort of home.