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This Super Sosyal Pancit Palabok is a Filipino rice noodle dish made with a prawn sauce and topped with smoked trout, boiled eggs, crushed pork rinds and chives.  It’s the ultimate party dish.

Pancit Palabok

It was my birthday 2 days ago and my special request to my mom was Pancit Palabok.  I actually shared our family recipe on The FeedFeed a few months ago.  However due to time constraints and not being able to go to the Filipino market to get all the things, we had to do some slight modifications.

Super Sosyal Pancit Palabok

What came about was a little fancier version. Sosyal in Tagalog means fancy in English.  The final dish turned out better than expected so I just had to share.

What is Pancit Palabok and what is in it?

Pancit Palabok is a rice noodle dish that is topped with a prawn sauce that is flavored and colored with atchuete (annato).  A prawn stock is made by boiling prawn heads and shells in water until all the flavor is extracted making sure to press down on the heads to get all the juices out.  Then the shells are strained out and the sauce is put back on the stove to reduce and thickened with arrowroot powder.

Pancit Palabok

Toppings

What I love about this pancit palabok in particular is that you can make it your own through the toppings.  This is where we had to do some replacements as we could not get to the Filipino market.  Here I’ll list both traditional toppings and what we ended up using instead.

My personal preference is to go way heavy on the sauce, smoked fish and kalamansi.  It’s really a pick your own adventure kind of dish.  Totally perfect for parties as it makes it more interactive and you get to see everyone personal preference.

Pancit Palabok

Super Sosyal Pancit Palabok

This Super Sosyal Pancit Palabok is a Filipino rice noodle dish made with a prawn sauce and topped with smoked trout, boiled eggs, crushed pork rinds and chives. It’s the ultimate party dish.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Filipino
Servings: 8 People
Author: Rezel Kealoha

Ingredients

For the Prawn Stock

  • 2 Pounds Prawns, large, pealed and reserve the shells and head
  • 4 Cups Water
  • 1 Tablespoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Whole Black Peppercorns

For the Palabok Sauce

  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Pound Ground Pork
  • 3 Garlic Cloves Minced
  • 4 Cups Prawn Stock
  • 2 Tablespoons Arrowroot Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Patis (Fish Sauce)
  • 1 Tablespoon Achuete powder

Noodles and Toppings

  • 2 Packets Rice Noodles
  • 6 Eggs Boiled and Cut into Slices
  • 1/2 Cup Crushed Pork Rinds
  • 1/2 Cup Smoked Trout
  • 1/2 Cup Diced Chives
  • 1 Whole Lemon Cut into Wedges
  • 2 Pounds Poached Prawns

Instructions

Cook The Prawn Stock

  • Add the prawn heads and peels to a medium-sized pot and cover with 4 cups water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat and then turn it down to a slow simmer. Press down on the prawn heads and peels as it simmers away to extract as much flavor as you can. Leave it to simmer for about 30 minutes. For extra umami blend the prawn stock with the shells in a blender.  Then strain the shells and place the stock in a bowl.

Make The Palabok Sauce

  • Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium-high and add in the pork mince. Cook until browned. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until transparent. Add in the garlic and cook until golden brown. Add in the firm tofu and saute for a further 5 minutes.
  • Pour in the prawn stock reserving ¼ cup. Bring to a slow boil. Meanwhile add in the achuete and arrowroot into the ¼ cup of reserved prawn stock and mix well making sure there are no lumps. Add into the sauce and keep stirring until thick.
  • Season with the fish sauce and leave to simmer for a further 30 minutes to develop more flavor. Just before serving taste and season more with fish sauce and salt and pepper

Noodles

  • Prepare the noodles according to package directions.

Serve the Palabok

  • Ladle the sauce in a bowl and lay out the noodles around the bowl. Arrange the prawns, eggs, crushed pork rinds, smoked trout, lemon wedges or and chives around the sauce and noodles so each guest can make their own mix.

Notes

Note: The prawn stock can be made a week ahead and kept in the freezer until you make the sauce. The sauce can also be made a 2-3 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator and reheated until serving.
 
To poach the prawns fill a large pot with water and season with 1 Tablespoon of salt. Add in the prawns and cook for 5 minutes until they start to curl and turn pink. Take out of the water.
Did you enjoy making it? I would love to see it! Tag me on Instagram @rezelkealoha with the #rezelkealoha!
For more healthy Filipino inspired goodness in your life follow along on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.  Or subscribe to get these recipes in your inbox.  And if you make this Super Sosyal Pancit Palabok I would love to see it.  Tag your Instagram snaps with @rezelkealoha and #rezelkealohaeats.