23 May 2010

Kulinarya Cooking Club May 2010 : Pancit (Filipino Noodles)


Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful cuisine.




Each month we will showcase a new dish along with our family recipes.  By sharing these recipes we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino food as we do.






This month's theme is Pancit (Filipino Noodles) chosen by Caroline from When Adobo Met Feijoada Blog and Olive from The Latest Recipes Blog.



For this month's theme, I asked for help.  Who else better to ask, than my mum. I knew straight away that I was going to make Pancit Palabok as this is my mum's specialty.  She is well known amongst the Filipinos around town for her Palabok.  

When I was in my teens, mum and dad used to have a stall at the Melbourne Philippine Fiesta.  In fact, they had a stall at the very first Fiesta back in 1982. In those days, it was a small affair and there were only a handful of stalls, mostly all selling food.  My parents sold Longganisa, Tocino, Chicharon to name a few. The week before the Fiesta, the house would be full of wonderful smells from all the preparation for the big weekend.  My parents made everything from scratch, including Tinapa (smoked fish).  I remember when I used to get home from school, it was my job to scale and gut a whole box full of sardines.  I hated it at the time but looking back, I am grateful that I was exposed to my parents passion for Filipino food.

They eventually stopped having a stall at the Fiesta however kept selling Filipino food to the local Filipino community.  This is where her pancit palabok really became a favorite among the locals.

I am happy to share with you this recipe and part of my family memory.

The sauce it the key part of this dish.  It has to be flavourful and it needs to be able to carry all the other flavours of the garnishes. This recipe is enough to feed 2 families or as my dad says "enough to feed the barangay(town)".  This is the quantity my mum usually makes.

In a large pot, boil 5 to 6 pieces of chicken thighs with bones and skin on.  Have enough water to use as the stock for the sauce (around 4-5 litres).  When cooked, remove the chicken and set aside.  When cool, remove the skin and shred meat into small pieces.

In another pan, saute  2 medium onions that have been chopped, along with about a bulb of garlic that has been finely chopped.  Once it's cooked add two packets (20g) of ground achuete (annatto).  Cook further for another 5 minutes.


To the chicken stock, add another litre of boiling water, 2 tbl of chicken stock podwer.  Add the onion mixture to the chicken stock and stir.  Add the shredded chicken.  

In a bowl  mix 300g cornflour and enough water to make a slurry. Add this to the  pot and mix well so no lumps are created.



Keep stirring until the sauce thickens.



Cook the noodles as instructed on the packet.  My mum recommends using thin rice noodles.  She cooks the noodles by emerging them in boiling water for a few minutes.  Remove and place under cold running water to prevent the noodles from sticking together.





To serve, place the noodles in a bowl and pour the sauce over it.  You can now garnish it with any topping you like.  Here is what my mum usually puts :

Fried Tofu


2 whole bulbs of garlic, chopped and fried


crushed pork crackling (chicharon)


flaked smoked fish (tinapa)

prawns


Lastly, enjoy!





Other members of the Kulinarya Cooking Club:

Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/
Trisha - http://sugarlace.com/
Trissa - http://trissalicious.com/
Olive - http://www.latestrecipes.net/
Caroline - http://whenadobometfeijoada.blogspot.com/
Ninette - http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/
Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/
Althea- http://www.busogsarap.com/
Asha - http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com/
Malou - http://www.impromptudiva.com/
Cherrie - http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/
Acdee - http://acdee.blogspot.com/
Valerie - http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/
Sheryl - http://crispywaffle.com/
Divina - http://www.sense-serendipity.com/
Anna - http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/
Dahlia - http://www.energychef.blogspot.com/
Joy - http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/
Maribel - http://www.foodgeek.webs.com/
Tressa
Jen - http://www.jen-at-work.blogspot.com/
Pia - http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/


21 comments:

/* */ chef_d said...

Your pancit palabok looks super delicious!

/* */ Trissa said...

You are so generous to have shared your parents recipe. It looks so delicious and authentic and much better than those "packet" sauces. I didn't realize that your parents sold so many Filipino dishes... I'd love the longganisa recipe one day!

/* */ A cupcake or two said...

Cherrie your palabok looks delicious. There is so many steps buts worth it at the end. Cheers to another KCC month. I will be back on board next month.

/* */ penny aka jeroxie said...

Looks really interesting and I am going to try and make this. Can I get Tinapa & ground achuete from Asian grocer?

/* */ SKIP TO MALOU said...

cherrie,
so this is what you were tweeting last week... huh! you're so generous in sharing a family trade secret. this recipe is as good as it gets. so authentic... cravings level: dangerously high! haha!
great post cherrie!

/* */ TaGa_Luto said...

Thank you for sharing your family recipe. I have always used the sachet mix. I will definitely be making them from scratch the next time i make them.

/* */ Ibyang said...

wow!!! looks yummy. and your photos look awesome. :)

/* */ Cherrie Pie said...

Chef_d, tnx!

Trissa, I've never had the sauce from a packet before. I did post my mum's longganisa http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/2008/01/back-to-my-roots-challenge-9.html I'll probably revisit the longganisa and repost.

Kath, It definitely is worth it. I hope you feel better soon and join again next month **hugs**

Penny, Pls make it. I got my tinapa and achuete from a Filipino store, but I'm sure you are able to get it at any Asian grocery store.

Malou, Yeah, was tweeting abt it. haha! tnx for the kind comment

taga_luto, pls try making from scratch, it really is worth it.

Ibyang, Tnx!

/* */ Tangled Noodle said...

Oh, palabok is my absolute favorite pancit (although don't get me wrong, I'll eat them all!) Thank you for a recipe that doesn't use Mama Sita packets - the sodium levels in those are through the roof! I much prefer this from-scratch version. 8-)

/* */ Caroline said...

Pancit Palabok has a special place in my heart because this is my auntie's specialty; this is one of my first post in my blog trying to recreate her recipe from memory. :)

Granted there is alot of preparation for the toppings, it really is very easy to make. (I avoid the packets as well.)Thanks for making this month's KCC and sharing your mother's recipe. Timr to make palabok again! :)

/* */ Trisha said...

Palabok is my most faaaaaavourite thing in the world! We go to Jollibee and I order this straight away! :) I can only use packet mixes as I don't know how to make the sauce, but thanks to you I can finally try making it at home. This is ABSOLUTELY fantastic!!!!!

/* */ mommy j said...

Oh my!!! I started drooling when I saw your post which looks so delicious! I bet you had a good time eating it ;-) Ok, I did say I'm a rice-girl, but palabok & pancit malabon are the only 2 filipino pancits I crave for! Mind if i ask where did you get your tinapa?

/* */ Annie said...

Cherrie, I have never tried making palabok, thinking it was too complicated. But I will certainly try your recipe. Thanks!

/* */ cusinera said...

Ouy! I love this, excellent pic....big drool factor! Never cooked Pancit Palabok before, will definitely try this soon...

/* */ Olive said...

WOW Cherrie that looks so yummy! I'm not sure if I can ever make pancit palabok at home but I'm saving your mom's recipe anyway ..thanks for sharing it! :)

/* */ Cherrie Pie said...

Tangled Noodle, I love all pancits too but I have to say that my mum's palabok is my fav :) I hae never tasted it from packet before but I bet fresh is always best anyway.

Carol, isn't it great to have families that pass down their special recipes? When you make some send some over. hehe

Trisha, Time to make palabok at home from scratch now! ;)

Mommy J, We ate it all up but had to save some for my brother and his family too. We got the tinapa from our local Filipino shop but I've also seen it at Asian grocery stores.

Annie, Give this a go, it's really not so complicated.

Cusinera, tnx! definitely try.

Olive, tnx. Save the recipe.... then mak ;)

/* */
Anonymous said...

What a delicious specialty! I would love to try pancit palabok!

/* */ Anh said...

OMG!! You need to tell me where is a goof Fillipino store since I want to make this badly!

/* */ Cherrie Pie said...

5 star foodie, you should try it and let me know what you think,

Anh, The only Filipino stores I know of are in the western subburbs (St. Albans and Footscray) however you should be able to get the ingredients at a good Asian grocery stores.

/* */ Gem said...

I had pancit palabok for the first time this year (ever) and it was delicious! My mum didn't actually know how to make it but followed a recipe on the packet of the noodles. It didn't look anywhere near as gorgeous as yours but her one had a lot less ingredients.

/* */ Jamal Mohamed said...

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