“Pancit palabok is a festive noodle dish recognized by thin rice noodles and annatto sauce. A stock made from shrimp shells gives the sauce its depth, while shrimp, smoked fish, hard-boiled eggs, crisp pork rinds, fried garlic and calamansi create layers of flavour and texture.”

Difficulty

Advanced

Yield

24 tasting or 12 generous portions

Ingredients

1 kilogram shell-on shrimp8 cups water1 small yellow onion, quartered4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

Ingredients

1/4 cup grapeseed oil1 large yellow onion, finely diced8 cloves garlic, minced500 grams ground pork2 tablespoons annatto powder2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus additional as needed6 cups shrimp stock1/2 cup flour1 cup shrimp stock

Ingredients

1 kilogram thin rice noodles6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced into wedges1 cup tinapa flakes or other flaked smoked fish2 cups chicharon or plain pork rinds, crushed1 cup green onions, thinly sliced1/2 cup fried garlic8 calamansi, halved, or 4 lemons, cut into wedges

Equipment

Chef's knifeCutting boardsMeasuring cupsMeasuring spoonsLarge bowlsLarge stock potFine-mesh strainerLarge saucepan or rondeauWhiskWooden spoonLarge pot for noodlesColanderSlotted spoonSmall frying panServing platter or individual bowlsTasting spoonsDish towel

Gather your mise en place; get together all of the equipment needed for the recipe and gather your ingredients.

Peel and devein the shrimp, reserving the heads and shells. Keep the peeled shrimp refrigerated while preparing the stock.

Place the shrimp shells and heads in a stock pot with the water, quartered onion and crushed garlic. Bring to a boil, then By applying heat and evaporating the water content you are decreasing in volume and concentrating flavour.reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes, pressing the shells occasionally with a wooden spoon.

Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids. Measure 6 cups for the sauce and set aside 1 additional cup to cool for the flour slurry. Add water if needed to reach 7 cups total.

Finely Food cut into small blocks or squares. Make sure they are all roughly the same size!dice the onion and mince the garlic. Slice the green onions and cooked eggs. Arrange the eggs, tinapa, crushed chicharon, green onions, fried garlic and calamansi in separate bowls for garnishing.

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a gentle boil. Add the peeled shrimp and A gentle method of moist cooking. It involves submerging an item in barely simmering liquid until the desired doneness is achieved. Think of a poached egg!poach for 2 – 3 minutes, until pink, opaque and just cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Heat the canola oil in a large saucepan or rondeau over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 3 – 4 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the ground pork and cook, breaking it into small pieces, until browned and fully cooked.

Stir in the annatto powder and fish sauce. Cook for 30 seconds, then gradually add 6 cups of the warm shrimp stock while stirring. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.

In a bowl, whisk the flour into 1 cup of cool shrimp stock until completely smooth. Slowly whisk the slurry into the simmering sauce. Cook for 8 – 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce is glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with black pepper and additional fish sauce as needed.

Cook or soak the rice noodles according to the package directions until tender but not mushy. Drain very well.

Arrange the noodles on a large serving platter or divide them among shallow bowls. Ladle the hot palabok sauce generously over the noodles.

Arrange the cooked shrimp, egg wedges and tinapa over the sauce. Finish with crushed chicharon, green onions and fried garlic.

Serve immediately with calamansi halves or lemon wedges for squeezing over top.

Growing Chefs! Ontario Recipe

Pancit Palabok

Yield: 24 tasting or 12 generous portions

Difficulty: Advanced

"Pancit palabok is a festive noodle dish recognized by thin rice noodles and annatto sauce. A stock made from shrimp shells gives the sauce its depth, while shrimp, smoked fish, hard-boiled eggs, crisp pork rinds, fried garlic and calamansi create layers of flavour and texture."