Pancit Molo Recipe

By
King Phojanakong
King Phojanakong
King Phojanakong
King is a chef and professional eater with many years of experience. When in doubt, put a fried egg on it.
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Updated on 01/4/23
Tested by
Danielle Centoni
Danielle Centoni
Tested by Danielle Centoni

Danielle is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon.

Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Pancit Molo in a bowl

The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

Prep: 70 mins
Cook: 8 hrs 10 mins
Total: 9 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Yield: 40 dumplings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
941 Calories
48g Fat
32g Carbs
89g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 941
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 48g 61%
Saturated Fat 14g 71%
Cholesterol 317mg 106%
Sodium 1796mg 78%
Total Carbohydrate 32g 12%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 89g
Vitamin C 4mg 20%
Calcium 117mg 9%
Iron 6mg 31%
Potassium 947mg 20%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Pancit Molo is a Filipino pork dumpling soup with origins from the town of Molo in Iloilo. It’s a dish my mom would make for us as kids that was simple, fun, tasty, and easy to eat. It was also fun to make together as we got older. The process begins by making a bone broth using a whole chicken and fortified with pork bones. The chicken is shredded and used as an accompaniment to the dumplings, which are made with pork and onions cradled in a wonton wrapper. The flavor-filled dumplings and the rich steamy broth are a combo that always brings me back home.

23:25

"This is a simple, warming, and satisfying soup. The broth takes just minutes to assemble and cooks all day with no fuss, and the dumplings are very fun to assemble. Their deeply savory filling is a great contrast to the simple broth and cooked chicken." —Danielle Centoni

Pancit Molo Recipe Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the broth:

  • 3 to 4 pound whole chicken, quartered

  • 2 pounds pork bones (neck, shoulder, etc.)

  • 2 medium yellow onions, quartered

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

  • 1 gallon water

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce, plus more to taste for serving

For the dumplings:

  • 3/4 pound ground pork

  • 1 small yellow onion, minced

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 40 wonton wrappers

  • 2 tablespoons toasted garlic, for garnish

  • 2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Steps to Make It

Make the Broth

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Broth ingredients in bowls and water in a pot

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  2. Place all the broth ingredients—chicken, pork bones, onions, salt, water, and fish sauce—in a stockpot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Skim off any gray foam that rises to the surface.

    Broth ingredients in a pot

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  3. Simmer for 6 to 8 hours. Strain and reserve broth. You should have 3 to 4 quarts. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Remove chicken and bones to a plate and allow to cool.

    Chicken in a bowl and broth in a container

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  4. Once the chicken has cooled, separate the meat from the bones and shred. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

    Chicken pieces in a glass container

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

Make the Dumplings

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Dumpling ingredients in bowls

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  2. Add ground pork, onion, garlic, egg, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, and pepper to a large bowl and mix well.

    Ground pork, onion, garlic, egg, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, and pepper in a large bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  3. Test the seasoning. Scoop out approximately 1 tablespoon of the mixture, form it into a flat patty, and cook it in a small skillet on each side until fully cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Taste the patty to ensure the filling is properly seasoned to your taste. Add more seasonings if necessary.

    Meat patty cooking in a pan on a burner

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  4. Prepare your workstation with a small bowl of water (for sealing), wonton wrappers, and a parchment-lined sheet pan for the finished wontons.

    Wonton wrappers on a plate, water in a bowl and a lined baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  5. Place wonton wrapper on a clean surface with one corner facing you. Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Using your finger, wet the edges of the wrapper.

    Filling on top of the wonton wrapper, and the edges of the wonton wrapper brushed with water

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  6. Fold the wrapper away from you, over the filling, to form a triangle. Ensure that there are no air pockets and the wrapper is completely sealed.

    Filling in a sealed wonton wrapper

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  7. Fold in the left corner and right corner together at the center and seal together with a dab of water. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Repeat the process until all the wontons are made.

    Pancit Molo shaped on a cutting board

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  8. Pour reserved broth in a large pot and place over high heat. Add as much shredded chicken as you want. Bring broth to a boil.

    Chicken broth and shredded chicken in a pot on a burner

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  9. Add wontons. Cook until the wontons are fully cooked. They will rise to the surface, and the wrappers will become more translucent. This takes approximately 5 to 7 minutes. 

    Pancit Molo cooking in a pot

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

  10. To serve, place wontons and chicken in bowls and ladle broth over the ingredients. Add more fish sauce to taste, if you wish. Garnish with toasted garlic and thinly sliced scallions.

    Pancit Molo in a bowl, garnished with toasted garlic and thinly sliced scallion

    The Spruce Eats / Christine Ma

How to Toast Garlic

To make the toasted garlic garnish, combine some chopped garlic in a skillet with enough vegetable oil to shallow-fry the garlic. Place over low heat to ensure that the garlic gets completely crisp before the exterior gets too dark. Cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown. Remove from heat. The garlic will continue to cook and brown in the oil. Strain the garlic pieces from the oil. Use the toasted garlic as garnish for the soup and save the infused oil for another dish.

Tips

  • Have all your ingredients prepped before beginning the process. 
  • How the dumpling is folded is not too important. More attention should be paid to the taste of the filling.
  • It's also important to use a uniform amount of filling for each dumpling.
  • Take care as well to ensure that the dumplings contain no air pockets and that they are completely sealed so they don't break open during cooking. 

Make Ahead

  • Both the soup and dumpling filling can be made ahead of time.
  • Make the dumplings right before cooking them; otherwise, they will become soggy if they sit for very long.
  • Alternatively, you can freeze the dumplings right after making them and cook them from frozen.

How to Store and Freeze Dumplings

  • Store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
  • Once dumplings are assembled and placed on a parchment-lined sheet pan, place the sheet pan of dumplings in the freezer.
  • Once dumplings are frozen, transfer them to a resealable container or zip-close bag and keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
  • Do not defrost before cooking. Instead, cook dumplings directly from the freezer.
  • The soup can be frozen, separate from the dumplings, for up to 2 months.

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