Name: Rice Noodles with Saffron-Scented Chicken Gravy (Pan • SEET pah • LAH • bok)
Yield: Serves 5 or 6
Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients: 1½ tablespoons canola or other neutral oil; 1½ tablespoons achuete powder (also known as annatto); 3 large eggs; 4 stalks celery, finely minced; 1 head garlic (7 to 8 cloves), peeled and finely minced; 1 large yellow onion, finely minced; 1 pound (455 g) bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, split; Kosher salt; 8 ounces (225 g) small shrimp (51/60 count per pound), shelled and deveined; 1 pound (455 g) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs; 3 calamansi (see headnote for Pulpy Salty Citrus Soda), halved, or lemons, cut into wedges, seeds removed; A few tablespoons Minced Fried Garlic or store-bought fried garlic; 8 to 9 ounces (225 to 255 g) rice vermicelli (ideally about the thickness of spaghetti), cooked per package instructions; Banana leaves (see headnote for Suman), fresh or frozen, for lining serving dish (optional); ½ teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper, plus more for finishing; Fish sauce, as needed; 1 ounce (28 g) chicharrón, crushed; 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

Preparation info

Serves
5 or 6

Difficulty
Complex

Appears in

Filipinx

By Angela Dimayuga and Ligaya Mishan

Published 2021

About

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