Rice Noodles with Saffron-Scented Chicken Gravy

The word pancit comes from the Hokkien for convenience food—a reference to the ready-to-go noodles sold on the street by migrant Chinese vendors under colonial rule, who were called panciteros, a fantastic mash-up of Spanish and Hokkien. Today pancit is an entire genre of noodle dishes, and of all of them, palabok is the richest. The sauce is as thick as an Italian ragù, with strands of chicken slowly disintegrating into a gravy lush from liquid chicken fat, and stained reddish-gold by achu