Pancit Palabok

Ingredients:

8 oz Rice Noodles or Bihon
1/2 pound Shrimps, shelled and deveined, and cooked
2-3 piecesTinapa or Salted Smoked Fish, cooked, deboned and flaked
1/4 pound ground pork
3 tablespoons Achuete (Annato) Seeds
3-4 stalks Green Onions, sliced fine
6 cloves Garlic, minced and fried
3 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

Cooking Procedure:

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 2 tablespoons oil on the pan.
3. Using 2 tablespoons of the oil, fry the ground pork with a teaspoon fish sauce until golden brown. 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. Stir in 2 tablespoons Tinapa flakes, and season with ground pepper.
7. Assemble on a plate in this order :

•Noodles
•Sauce
•Tinapa Flakes
•Shrimp
•Ground Meat
•Fried Garlic
•Boiled Egg
•Green Onion


Tips:

•You might want to add fried (firm) tofu with the ground meat. Just fry the tofu first before cooking it in Step #3.
•Shrimps cook real fast, about 2-3 minutes. Make sure you don't overcook as it can get rubbery and tough.
•If you like tofu, you can add the Silken Tofu into the sauce to get a thicker consistency without adding much cornstarch and it makes the sauce creamy.
•Another topping option common to Pancit Palabok is the ground Pork Crackling (Chicharon). They are available in both whole and ground variety. Just make sure they're not flavored with anything but salt.
•Try adding a Knorr Shrimp Cube or any Shrimp Broth for more shrimp flavor. But cut down on the Fish Sauce as the cube is already salty.