Pancit Malabon is the seafood pancit of Malabon, a fishing town north of Manila. Thick, tubular rice noodles are coated in a rich orange sauce built from shrimp stock, annatto and crab fat, then piled high with shrimp, squid, oysters, smoked-fish flakes, sliced egg and crushed chicharron. Heavier and more luxurious than its cousin palabok, it is a celebration noodle served at room temperature.
Pancit Malabon takes its name from the coastal town of Malabon, long a center of fishing and aquaculture, whose abundant seafood shaped the dish. It belongs to the same family as Pancit Palabok but is distinguished by thicker noodles, a seafood-heavy topping, and crab fat stirred into the sauce. Like all pancit it grows from the Hokkien noodle tradition, but the gravy-and-garnish style is regarded as a Filipino development rather than a Chinese import.
The thick noodles are pleasantly chewy and slick with a sauce that is at once shrimpy, faintly sweet and deeply savory from crab fat. Each forkful gathers tender squid and shrimp, briny oyster, smoky fish flakes and the shatter of chicharron, while calamansi cuts the richness with a sour lift.
Annatto seeds bloomed in hot oil give the sauce its orange color, while shrimp heads and shells simmered into stock build the umami base; crab fat (aligue) stirred in at the end adds richness and a final savory depth. Cornstarch thickens the sauce so it clings to the heavy noodles instead of running off, and the noodles are tossed in it rather than served in broth.
Variations
Toppings vary with the catch — all-shrimp luxury versions, extra squid or oyster, or added tinapa flakes. Pancit Palabok is the lighter, thinner-noodle relative; some cooks finish Malabon with a squeeze of patis and calamansi rather than crab fat when aligue is scarce.
On the Palate
Where Pancit Malabon sits in the Filipino flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
7 steps · 30 min
- 115 min
Simmer shrimp heads and shells in water, then strain to make a rich shrimp stock.
Watch outSimmer the shrimp heads and shells into a rich stock; this is the umami base of the whole sauce, so don't shortcut it with plain water.
- 24 min
Bloom annatto seeds in hot oil, discard the seeds, and saute garlic in the colored oil.
- 36 min
Add the shrimp stock, season, and stir in crab fat; thicken with a cornstarch slurry until glossy.
Watch outThicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry until glossy so it clings to the heavy noodles; too thin and it slides off instead of coating.
- 48 min
Soak the thick rice noodles until pliable, then blanch briefly and drain.
- 53 min
Toss the hot noodles thoroughly in the orange sauce until evenly coated.
Watch outToss the hot noodles thoroughly in the orange sauce until evenly coated; this is a tossed noodle, not a soup, so every strand should carry the sauce.
- 65 min
Cook the shrimp, squid and oysters separately just until done.
- 74 min
Plate the noodles and pile on the seafood, smoked-fish flakes, egg and chicharron; serve with calamansi.
