Eating Ilonggo Favorites: How to Cook Pancit Molo

Mention Iloilo City, and some pretty iconic Ilonggo recipes come to mind. You’ve got recipes for La Paz Batchoy, but now we are long overdue to talk about the recipe that’s a must-try when you’re in Iloilo. Time to learn how to cook Pancit Molo.

Pancit Molo is named after one of Iloilo City’s districts, and if you’ve stayed or have been in Iloilo long enough, then you know that this particular dish is one of the more identifiable pancit dishes here in the Philippines.

Among Philippine noodle dishes, Pancit Molo stands out, just because it looks non-traditional. If you’re going to relate it to an international dish, you can say learning how to cook Pancit Molo is like cooking and eating Chinese wontons, except it’s for soup.

How to Cook Pancit Molo

Pancit Molo is a household specialty. If any Ilonggo family knows how to make it, they’ve added their own special ingredient. That’s why learning how to cook Pancit Molo varies from one household to the next. From that delicious meat filling mix to the soup, there can be a hundred ways of cooking Pancit Molo.

When you’re learning how to cook Pancit Molo, here’s what you’ll need according to Panlasang Pinoy:

Wonton

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground pork
• 15 pieces medium shrimp shell removed and deveined
• 30 to 35 pieces wrapper wonton
• 1 medium yellow onion minced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Soup

• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup toasted garlic
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken
• 48 oz. chicken broth
• 3 cups water

And here’s what you need to do next:

• Prepare the wonton by chopping up the shrimp into small pieces and put them all in a mixing bowl.
• Add the ground pork, onions, sesame oil, egg, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Mix all of it well.
• Lay a piece of wonton wrapper flat on a plate. 
• Scoop one and a half teaspoon of the mixture and place it on the middle of the wrapper. Just fold the wonton wrapper to form a triangle. 
• Press the sides to keep the meat mixture intact, and hold both sides of the triangle wrapper inward. Set this aside, and do this step until the pork mixture is completely consumed.
• You can make the soup by combining water and chicken broth in a soup pot, and let it boil.
• Add the rotisserie chicken with the bones. 
• Cover and boil in low heat for 20 minutes.
• Turn the heat off temporarily.
• Remove the chicken and let it cool down. Separate the meat from the bones, and shred the meat.
• Turn the heat back on and wait until the liquid reboils. 
• Add the shredded chicken meat, put the wontons in the soup pot, and cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes in low to medium heat.
• Add the fish sauce and half of the chopped scallions. Stir.
• Transfer to a serving plate, and top them with toasted garlic and additional scallions.

Learn How to Cook Pancit Molo Today!

Iloilo is rich in food recipes, and Iloilo Blog is all about documenting each and everyone of them. Keep browsing through our blog to find awesome recipes!