Filipino Dumpling Soup and Deep Fried Dumplings. An International Incident.

Another International Incident Party and this time, it's a dumplings party.  If you follow me on twitter, you will know that I was stressed about my dumplings however I had plenty of help from Penny from Jeroxie - Addictive & Consuming blog and she reminded me that this party was  meant to be fun and not stressful.  After finally deciding what I was going to make, it started to be fun. 

I decided to make two versions.  I wanted my first dumplings to be traditional so I decided to make a Filipino version and did a little research and found Pancit Molo.  

Filipino Dumpling Soup or Pancit Molo looks and tastes a lot  like a Chinese Dumpling Soup, simply because it is.  The Chinese in the Philippines have influenced not only some of our culture but, of course, our food.  This dish was named after a district in the province, Iloilo and unlike other pancit (noodle) dishes, this is a wet dish and there's no actual noodles.  The wonton is considered to be the noodle.

To make mine that extra special, I made the chicken stock from scratch.  I was able to control the flavour and balance of the broth.

For my other version, I also decided to deep fry a few of the dumplings.  I knew my daughter, would love these.  She is, after all, my toughest critic.  I am happy to say, she loved it.  "Mummy, I love the texture.  It's so light"  Hahaha!  She has been watching Masterchef Australia with me

I have never made dumplings before so I had many questions. Most of them about the wrapper.  I wanted to make my own wrappers and I was given a couple of different good recipes.  However, after doing a bit of research and asking questions, I opted to buy my wonton wrappers

The filling is definitely Chinese inspired with the classic mixture of pork and prawn.  I did not finely mince the prawn as I wanted a little more texture with the mixture.   

To wrap the dumplings, I felt the most stressed.  However, I was guided to a great website http://www.asiandumplingtips.com  Andrea Nguyen has great tips and instructional videos on all thing dumplings.  I was able to easily follow her instructions and got into a routine and made plenty of dumplings in no time.

• CHICKEN STOCK
• 1kg chicken bones
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 carrot chopped
• salt
• pepper corns
• 4 bay leaves
• .
• DUMPLINGS
• 220g fresh prawns, deveined and minced
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 200g mince pork
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2 ground black pepper
• wonton wrappers
• .
• Spring onions
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbl oil

1. In a large pot, add all the ingredients for the stock. Add enough water to cover. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
2. In a bowl, mix the pork, prawn and half the onions. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Take one wonton wrapper. Place 1 tsp of the mixture in the center and fold over to create a triangle. Seal with water. Take the corners on the left and right sides, dab with water and bring the sides together and press together. Repeat for all the dumplings
4. In a pot add the rest of the chopped onions and garlic. Sauté till lightly browned.
5. Pour 6 cups of stock into the pot and let it come to a gentle simmer.
6. Add the dumplings and poached. It will rise to the top when cooked. This will take about 5 minutes.
7. Add the spring onions and cook for a further 2-3 minutes
8. Serve immediately and garnish with a spring onion stem.

Filipino Dumpling Soup Pancit Molo @ Group Recipes

Now that I've finally made my dumplings, I am very happy with the way it turned out.  I'm extremely happy that my family loved it as much as I did.  I am not scared about making my own dumplings anymore but I think I want to try my hand at making fresh wrappers.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie