Wonton Soup Pancit Molo

Wonton Soup Pancit Molo

Chinese in origin, Pancit Molo is one of the best-known dishes in the Visayas region of the Philippines. Though the word pancit suggests noodles, here Chinese dumplings or wontons are
added to a delicious chicken broth. If you don’t feel like making the dumplings, you can buy them frozen or just use noodles and bits of chicken meat instead. Wonton wrappers are versatile: You can cut them into small squares and deep-fry them to make delicious chips or you can make ravioli with them.


Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of knife and minced
1 onion, minced
8 cups (2 liters) water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 chicken thigh, preferably bone-in, sliced 2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 green onions (scallions), finely chopped, for garnish

Dumplings
One 16-oz (454-g) package wonton wrappers
1 lb (500 g) ground pork
1/4 lb (125 g) shrimp, shelled, deveined and sliced
3 water chestnuts, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fish sauce
4 green onions (scallions), chopped

Serves 4 to 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Direction:

1. To make the Dumplings, mix together the pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, salt, and fish sauce in a large bowl. Set a wrapper on a floured flat surface. Place a teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Use your finger to moisten the inner edges of the wrapper; this will seal the wonton wrapper together. Gather the four corners of the wrapper toward the center. Make sure there is no air between the wrapper and its filling. Squeeze the corners tightly together to ensure the dumpling stays closed—if the wrapper is loose, the mixture will come out when boiled. Continue filling the other wrappers until all of the pork mixture is used up. You should be able to make about 20 dumplings.
2. Add oil to a skillet over medium heat and sauté the garlic until lightly browned. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Set aside.
3. Add the water and salt to a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the fish sauce, chicken, pepper, garlic, and onion to the broth. Bring to a boil again, and reduce heat to medium. Gently add the wontons to the broth and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Ladle the soup and wontons into individual serving bowls. Garnish with the chopped scallions. Serve hot with steamed rice.