Although it's not exactly the same visually, immediately after hitting Tab you can start typing in the Quick Node Palette and it will find and select the first item that matches what you type (this works just like it does with any list in Windows). When you press Enter the node is created and the Quick Node Palette is dismissed. If you mistype, you can hit Backspace once and start typing again.
For more advanced searches you can use the search field at the bottom, but most of the time you can simply type into the list as soon as it opens.
Matt