serves
4
prep
20 minutes
cook
20 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
4
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
20
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Stream free On Demand
Fiesta In A Flash
Watch the full episode here
G
Watch the full episode here
G
Ingredients
- ½ packet of palabok noodles (see Note)
- 6 quail eggs, hard boiled & peeled, to serve
- ¼ cup tinapa flakes, to serve
- ¼ cup chicharon ground, to serve
- ½ cup sliced spring onions (green part), to serve
- 4 cooked prawns, peeled, to serve
- 4 halves calamansi or 2 lemons cut into wedges, to serve
For the palabok sauce
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tsp fried garlic
- 2 tsp annatto powder
- 250 g pork mince
- 1 calamari, cleaned and sliced into rings
- 200 g green prawns, deveined
- 500 ml seafood stock
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chicharon ground (see Note)
- ¼ cup tinapa flakes (see Note)
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Instructions
1. Soak the palabok noodles for 10 minutes in cold water. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook the palabok noodles according to the package instructions. Reserve ½ a cup of noodle cooking water. Strain the noodles and rinse under cool water and set aside. Combine the cooled noodle cooking water with the plain flour to make a slurry, ensuring there are no lumps and set aside. You can prepare this step ahead of time.
2. Heat a second, large saucepan over medium heat with the vegetable oil. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, then stir through the fried garlic and annatto powder until the onion is well coated with the mixture. Add the pork mince and cook for 2-4 minutes, or until cooked through. Add the calamari and prawns and cook for 1 minute, until combined with the other ingredients.
3. Add the seafood stock, fish sauce and ground black pepper and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes to allow ingredients to combine, then add the chicharon and tinapa.
4. Gradually add the flour slurry to the sauce to thicken to your desired consistency (it should be similar to spaghetti bolognaise sauce). Season to taste, then remove from the heat. Stir through the cooked palabok noodles and gently toss until well coated with the sauce. Transfer to a serving platter and top with quail eggs, extra tinapa flakes, chicharon, sliced spring onion (the green part only), prawns and calamansi.
Note
Palabok noodles: The ones I use are a fat noodle specifically made for palabok. You can, however, use any type of starch noodle, like rice noodles. If you are using a different type of noodle, follow the cooking instructions on the packet.
Seafood stock: You can also use vegetable stock or chicken stock instead.
Tinapa flakes: ‘Tinapa’ is the Tagalog word for smoked fish. You can substitute this with any smoked fish which I would recommend sautéing until crispy. Alternatively, I’ve seen people use smoked salmon or trout fillets instead.
Chicharon: Otherwise known as pork crackling. If you can’t find ground pork cracking, you can buy regular pork crackling and blitz it in a food processor until it is a crumb consistency.
Calamansi: I’ve rarely seen calamansi fruit in the supermarket. You may have to hit up a Filipino friend for fresh calamansi (most of us have a tree in our backyards). You can also use lemon if you’re unable to find calamansi.
Photography by Jiwon Kim.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Stream free On Demand
Fiesta In A Flash
