Pancit Molo: Iloilo Wonton Soup

Pancit Molo: Iloilo Wonton Soup Recipe

Pancit Molo is Iloilo's dumpling soup: pork-shrimp wontons, shredded chicken, toasted garlic, and a clear savory broth made for rainy days and family tables.

Yield: 6 servings Serving size: 8 dumplings with 1 1/2 cups broth

Yield note: This makes about 48 small dumplings, enough for 8 dumplings per bowl.

Shopping List

Meat and Seafood

• Ground pork
• Raw shrimp
• Bone-in chicken thighs or breast

Produce

• Garlic
• Yellow onion
• Scallions
• Calamansi or limes

Pantry

• Wonton wrappers
• Fish sauce
• Soy sauce
• Sesame oil
• Chicken stock

Ingredients

Broth

• 1 pound bone-in chicken thighs or breast
• 8 cups chicken stock or water, plus boiling water as needed to make 9 cups finished broth
• 1 small onion, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Dumplings

• 12 ounces ground pork
• 6 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 scallions, minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 48 square wonton wrappers

Finish

• 1/4 cup neutral oil
• 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3 scallions, sliced
• Calamansi or lime wedges

Instructions

1. Simmer the chicken, stock, onion, crushed garlic, fish sauce, salt, and pepper for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the thickest chicken meat reaches 165 F away from bone.
2. Remove the chicken. Strain the broth if you want it very clear, then return the broth to the pot.
3. Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and reserve it for finishing the soup.
4. Mix pork, shrimp, minced garlic, scallions, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper until slightly sticky.
5. Place about 2 teaspoons filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Moisten the edges, fold into a triangle, then pinch the corners together.
6. Heat oil and sliced garlic in a small pan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is pale gold. Transfer garlic to a plate and save the oil.
7. Bring the broth to a gentle simmer. Cook dumplings in batches, starting to check at 4 to 5 minutes; the wrappers should be tender and the center of the filling must reach 160 F (165 F if using the minced-chicken substitution). Lift cooked dumplings into six serving bowls, eight per bowl.
8. Return the shredded chicken to the broth and simmer until it reaches 165 F. Lift the chicken into the six serving bowls. With all solids removed, carefully measure the hot broth in a heatproof jug in manageable batches. Return it to the pot and add boiling water to bring the finished volume to 9 cups.
9. Taste and adjust with fish sauce, salt, and pepper.
10. Immediately ladle 1 1/2 cups broth into each bowl, avoiding further simmering that would reduce the measured volume. Finish with garlic oil, toasted garlic, scallions, and calamansi.