Pancit Molo
(pahn-SIT MOH-loh)
Sabaw for the Soul (What Lola Made When We Were Sick)
It’s the ultimate sleight of hand: a dish called pancit that contains no noodles at all. Instead, plump pork and shrimp dumplings swim in a deeply savory, garlic-laced chicken broth tinted slightly orange from a rapid infusion of shrimp shells. Tracing its lineage back to the Chinese merchants of Iloilo City, this is exactly the restorative, soul-warming bowl a Filipino grandmother conjures on a cold Tuesday night when you are feeling under the weather. We streamline the multi-day stock into a weeknight hack by blistering those shrimp shells straight into store-bought broth, retaining all the authentic, cooked-all-day umami with a fraction of the sweat.
Ingredients
- neutral cooking oil1 tbsp
- shrimp shells1/2 cup
- yellow onion1 med
- garlic3 med cloves
- low-sodium chicken broth6 cup
- water2 cup
- fish sauce2 tbsp
- whole black peppercorns1/2 tsp
- ground pork1/2 lb
- raw shrimp1/2 lb
- canned water chestnuts1/2 cup
- chives1/3 cup
- yellow onion1 small
- garlic3 med cloves
- egg1 large
- cornstarch1 tbsp
- soy sauce1 tbsp
- sesame oil1 tsp
- ground black pepper1/2 tsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- Hong Kong-style wonton wrappers14 oz
- cooked chicken breast1 1/2 cup
- toasted garlic bits1/4 cup
- chives1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Extract the shrimp essence to build the broth.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add the reserved shrimp shells and heads, sautéing for about four minutes until they turn bright orange and fragrant. Toss in the quartered onion and smashed garlic for a minute, then pour in the chicken broth, water, fish sauce, and peppercorns. Bring it to a boil, drop the heat to low, cover, and let it simmer gently for twenty minutes while you build the dumplings.
- 02
Mix the pork and shrimp filling aggressively.
In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, hand-chopped shrimp, water chestnuts, minced chives, grated onion, minced garlic, egg, cornstarch, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, and salt. Stir the mixture continuously in one direction for a solid minute to bind the proteins together, ensuring the dumpling will not crumble when you bite into it.
- 03
Fold the dumplings into traditional peaked bonnets.
Lay a square wrapper out like a diamond and place one heaping teaspoon of filling in the lower center. Moisten the edges with a wet finger, fold the bottom point up to form a triangle, and press firmly to expel any air. Pull the two bottom corners of the triangle together over the belly of the filling, dab with water, and pinch them tight to form a nun's hat shape, repeating until the filling is gone.
- 04
Strain the broth and bring it back to a boil.
Using a slotted spoon or fine-mesh strainer, fish out and discard the shrimp shells, aromatics, and peppercorns. You are left with a clear, golden-orange broth infused with deep seafood umami, which you should bring back to a medium boil.
- 05
Boil the dumplings until they float.
Drop the folded dumplings into the bubbling broth along with any leftover empty wrappers sliced into thick strips, which act as the literal noodles of the dish. Cook for five to seven minutes until the wrappers are translucent and the dumplings bob to the surface.
- 06
Stir in the chicken and serve immediately.
In the final minute, add the shredded rotisserie chicken just to warm it through, tasting the broth and adjusting with a splash more fish sauce if necessary. Ladle the soup into deep bowls and garnish aggressively with toasted garlic and fresh chives.
Notes
Freeze the excess for a rainy day.
This recipe makes about 35 to 40 dumplings. If you are cooking for a smaller crowd, you can freeze half of the uncooked dumplings right on a baking sheet; they will boil perfectly straight from the freezer later.
From Cook Filipino in America.