Pancit Molo

Pancit Molo

As the rainy season continues and the "ber" months usher in longer and colder nights, there is nothing like waking up to the homemade goodness of Pancit Molo. Named after one of Iloilo City’s districts, Pancit Molo is one of the more identifiable pancit dishes in the country. It stands out uniquely among the noodle dishes mainly because of its non-traditional pancit look. It is a derivative of the Chinese wonton (filled dumplings) made into a soup.

Ingredients:
Filling:
1 cup ground pork
1/2 cup cooked chicken meat, flaked
1/4 cup water chestnuts, chopped
3 tbsp patis (fish sauce)
salt to taste

Stock:
8 cups chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
25-30 wonton wrappers
pepper to taste
chopped spring onions
oil for sauteing

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients for the filling except for the molo wrapper.
Put some filling on one corner of a molo wrapper.
Roll up to enclose.
Get the two ends and pinch together to seal.
Do this for all the filling and wrappers.
Set aside.
In a saucepan, heat oil then sauté garlic and onions.
Add chicken, ham and shrimps.
Cook for a few minutes then add the broth.
Bring to a boil then drop in the stuffed molo wrappers.
Season to taste.
Cover and let boil.
Serve hot topped with spring onions and fried garlic

Pork Chop Suey

Pork Chop Suey

This chop suey recipe is a quick and easy stir-fry that can be on the table in no time. You can substitute your favorite choice of meat for the pork or add different vegetables if you want to make it your own.

Ingredients:
1 pound pork tenderloin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 cups thinly sliced bok choy
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Preparation:
Cut the pork into thin strips. Add seasonings to pork, adding the cornstarch last. Marinate the pork for 10 - 15 minutes.

While pork is marinating, prepare vegetables and sauce. For sauce: Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside.

For vegetables: Cut bamboo shoots into thin strips. Slice the mushrooms and water chestnuts. Cut the green pepper in half, remove the seeds and slice diagonally. For the bok choy, separate each stalk and leaves. Cut the stalk diagonally and cut the leaves across. Cut the celery diagonally. Cut the onion in half, peel, and slice thinly.

Place the vegetables on a large tray, being careful to keep each group separate (include the bok choy stalks and leaves), and set aside.

Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, add the pork. Stir-fry pork until redness is gone. Remove and set aside.

Reheat wok and add more oil. When oil is ready, stir-fry each of the vegetables. The order doesn't matter, but you can stir-fry the onions and celery together, (if desired you can cook these with the pork), and the green pepper and snow peas together. When cooking the bok choy, add the stalk first. Add salt to taste as desired while stir-frying each group of vegetables. Add water and cover wok while cooking bok choy, as it doesn't contain much moisture.

Reheat wok and add oil. Give the sauce a quick re-stir. Add and combine all the cooked ingredients in the wok. Make a "well" in the center and gradually add the sauce, stirring to thicken. Once it has boiled, remove the chop suey from the stove. Serve hot.

Pancit Palabok

Pancit Palabok

Pansit Palabok is made from rice flour noodles topped with crab sauce, eggs, shrimps, squid, garlic and more. Estimated preparation for toppings: 1 1/2 hours.Estimated cooking time for sauce & noodles: 40 minutes.

Ingredients: Palabok Noodles / Sauce
1/2 kilo miki noodles
1/2 kilo small crabs
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of atchuete seeds or oil
2 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)
4 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolved in water
1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG)
1 1/2 cups of water

Palabok Toppings
Tinapa flakes (smoked fish)
Cooked shrimps, shelled
Squid adobo, sliced into rings
Pork chicharon, grounded
Spring onions, chopped
Hard boiled eggs, shelled, sliced
Fried garlic, minced
Fresh calamansi (lemon), sliced

Cooking Procedure:
1. Soak the rice noodles in water for about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook the sauce
2.1 Heat a saucepan and pour the cooking oil
2.2 When the oil is hot enough, put-in the ground pork and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes
2.3 Dilute the annato powder in pork broth then pour the mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a boil (If you are using anatto seeds, soak them first in 3 tbsp water to bring-out the color)
2.4 Add the shrimp cube and stir and simmer for 3 minutes
2.5 Add the flour gradually while stirring.
2.6 Add the fish sauce and ground black pepper then simmer until sauce becomes thick. Set aside.
3. Boil enough water in a pot
4. Place the soaked noodles in a strainer (use metal or bamboo strainer) then submerge the strainer in the boiling water for about a minute or until the noodles are cooked. (make sure that the noodles are still firm)
5. Remove the strainer from the pot and drain the liquid from the noodles
6. Place the noodles in the serving plate.
7. Place the sauce on top of the noodles then arrange the toppings over the sauce.
8. Serve with a slice of lemon or calamansi. Share and enjoy!
Note: If you are using fresh shrimps with head, the shrimp cube can be omitted. Shell the shrimp and remove the head. Crush the head of the shrimp and use the juice instead of the shrimp cube.