I dreamt of Marilyn

Last night, I dreamt of Marilyn. No, not Marilyn Monroe or any other Marilyn for that matter. I dreamt of my mom, her name is Marilyn. She was cooking her most applauded (read:laging ubos!) dish, Pancit Palabok (hence we named it Pancit Palabok ala Marilyn). It's a different take on the traditional palabok. This could actually pass to most vegetarians (or at least to those who still eat seafoods but not pork, beef, chicken or any other meat). This dish is actually my mom's specialty, (kahit na ako ang nagturo sa kanya kung paano ito lutuin.) It is her staple centerpiece everytime there is a family gathering. She used to brag about how tedious the process of making the dish (the exact same reason why I don't cook this dish often). A week ago, we celebrated her first death anniversary, and I deemed it appropriate to have this on the table. I cooked the sauce ahead of time and just stored it on the fridge. Paggising ko kanina, bigla ko tuloy naalala may extra sauce pa nga pala so I cooked the noodle and make today's lunch (err, brunch) a feast.

Pancit Palabok ala Marilyn

Well, everyone said parang luto daw ni Mama. I just hope hindi nila ako binobola.

Pancit Palabok ala Marilyn

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo Palabok noodles (cooked per package direction)
1/2 pc tofu, mashed
1 head of garlic, minced
1 medium sized onion, minced
cooking oil, enough for sauteing
1/4 kilo fresh alamang (unsalted)
1 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbsp. water ( this is the slurry)
1/2 cup powdered tinapa
1/2 cup powdered chicharon
achuete oil (for coloring)

For the toppings:
1/2 kilo tahong steamed and taken off from shell
1/2 kilo squid steamed and cut into bite sized pieces
4 hard boiled egg sliced
crushed chicharon baboy
chopped green onions
chopped kinchay
fried garlic, crushed
calamansi

Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and onions in very little water. Add in the alamang and wait until it turns into an orangey pink color.
2. Add in the tofu and stir well. After a few minutes, add in the chicharon and tinapa and the slurry, then the achuete oil.
3. Simmer for a few minutes and you may then add this to the cooked palabok noodles.
4. For an authentic look, arrange in a bilao laden with banana leaves. Topped with the tahong, squid, eggs and the other toppings.

**Other people find the saltiness of the powdered tinapa enough for their taste while others find the need to add some more patis. Just do serve it with patis, tinapa powder and chicharon powder on the side para pwedeng dagdagan ng ibang gusto ng mas maalat. You may also omit the chicharon, so it won't have any meat products at all.