← Nouns Cooking · Indonesian & Filipino

Ingredients

• 450 g thick rice noodles (palabok or bihon)
• 250 g shell-on prawns
• 1.2 l Water
• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 250 g Minced pork
• 1½ tbsp annatto powder (or 2 tbsp seeds soaked in 125 ml hot water and strained)
• 3 tbsp Fish sauce
• 60 g plain flour, whisked into 125 ml water
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 3 Eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
• 50 g smoked fish flakes (tinapa)
• 50 g Chicharon (crispy pork crackling), crushed
• 3 Spring onion, chopped
• 6 calamansi or lime wedges

Method

1. Boil the prawns in the water for 2–3 min until pink. Lift them out, peel them and set the meat aside. Return the heads and shells to the pot, simmer for 10 min, then strain; you need about 1 l of stock.
2. Soak the noodles in warm water for 10 min, then cook them in boiling water for 2–3 min until just tender. Drain, rinse and divide between plates.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and fry the garlic and onion for 2 min. Add the pork and cook for 5 min, breaking it up, until browned.
4. Add the shrimp stock, annatto and fish sauce and bring to the boil. Whisk in the flour mixture and simmer for 5 min, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick like gravy. Season with pepper.
5. Ladle the hot sauce over the noodles and top with the prawns, egg slices, smoked fish, chicharon and spring onion. Serve with calamansi to squeeze over and toss everything together at the table.

Tips

• Make the sauce up to a day ahead; it thickens as it cools, so loosen it with a splash of water when reheating.
• Contains wheat (flour) and shellfish. Fried garlic is a popular extra topping.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Panlasang Pinoy Foxy Folksy