Pancit Malabon Recipe

Rice Noodles in Thick Sauce with Assorted Seafood

The Pancit Malabon recipe starts with a rice noodle dish, topped with a shrimp-flavored yellow sauce and assorted seafoods.

It is made much like the Pancit Palabok, but the sauce is not as thick.

The name is from the place it is popularized - Malabon in Metro Manila, known for its fishponds or Palaisdaan.

The rice noodles are the thick variety, more like cornstarch noodles, cooked in boiling water and drained, then topped with a thick red-orange sauce flavored with shrimp juice. Unlike the Palabok, Pancit Malabon only uses seafoods as topping, like shrimp and squid, and if budget permits, clams and oysters.

Your usual toppings and flavorings for the Pancit Palabok like ground or strips of Pork, fried Tofu, Tinapa flakes, Chicharon or Pork Cracklings are not found here - this is an all seafood noodle dish.

Traditionally, Pancit Malabon is served with on a round bamboo weave platter called bilao.

YOUR SHOPPING LIST:

• Thick Rice Noodles or Cornstarch Noodles
• Shrimps
• Squid
• Achuete or Annato Seeds
• Green Onions

IN THE PANTRY:

• Garlic
• Cornstarch
• Fish Sauce or Patis
• Ground Pepper
• Eggs
• Cooking Oil

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz Thick Rice Noodles or Cornstarch Noodles
• 1 1/2 pound Shrimps, shelled and deveined, and cooked
• 1 1/2 pound Squid, head separated, body cleaned and sliced
• 3 tablespoons Achuete (Annato) Seeds
• 3-4 stalks Green Onions, sliced fine
• 6 cloves Garlic, minced and fried
• 2 tablespoons Cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 5 cups Water
• 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce or Patis
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Pepper
• 3-4 Eggs, boiled, shelled and cut in wedges
• 1/4 cup Cooking Oil

1  Boil the noodles in a water for 2-3 minutes or until the noodles are soft but not soggy. Drain the noodles and set aside.

2 In a small pan, steep the achuete seeds on the heated oil to extract the color. Strain, and leave 1 tablespoon oil on the pan.

3 Stir-fry the shrimps and squid for 1-2 minutes, then add a teaspoon of fish sauce. Set aside.

4 Using a separate pan, boil the shrimp shells with the water for 3-4 minutes, strain and dispose the shells.

5 Thicken with the cornstarch mixture and add the remaining achuete oil.

6 Assemble on a plate in this order :

• Noodles
• Sauce
• Shrimp
• Squid
• Fried Garlic
• Boiled Egg
• Green Onion

BENG'S TIPS

• Though not traditional, you can add scallops to this dish - they are mild in flavor and makes a nice addition to your seafood mix.
• Shrimps and squids (and scallops) cook real fast, about 2-3 minutes. Make sure you don't overcook as they can get rubbery and tough.
• Though this is a seafood noodle dish, it is not advisable to add any kind of fish and crabs as they could overpower the flavor of the sauce.
• You can add a shrimp broth bouillon for more shrimp flavor, but cut down on the fish Sauce if the bouillon is already salty.
  

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