Instant Pot Pancit Molo or Ilonggo Style Dumplings

Pancit Molo is very common in every household in Iloilo. It originates from Molo Iloilo, the place where I graduated from Nursing School. Each household have their own version. Sometimes we eat pancit molo noodles (yellow noodles) only without molo balls. Every time there’s a birthday, there’s always pancit molo in the table. I remember when I was a kid, During Flores de Mayo, there’s always Pancit Molo as a snacks for each little kids.

Several years ago, we don’t have ready-made liquid broth. We use Knorr cubes and a lot of shrimp head as a broth. The shrimp head also adds orange color to the broth. For filling, we use either chicken or pork.

Instant Pot Pancit Molo or Ilonggo Style Dumplings
Author: Neliza Ly

Equipment:

• Instant Pot
• Measuring cup
• Measuring Spoon

Pancit Molo Filling
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup green onion or scallion
• 1 ½ tbsp. Maggi seasoning
• ¼ tsp. black pepper, grind
• 1 piece tahure or fermented tofu (optional since I can’t find it here in the US and not all household use it. The filling still taste good without it)
• Gyoza wrapper (It is thicker and works well compare with wonton wrapper here in the US)

Instructions:

• In a bowl, combine ground chicken, garlic, scallion, Maggi seasoning, black pepper.
• Wrap in a gyoza wrapper like the way you wrap wonton noodle.  You can store the rest in the freezer for future use.

Pancit Molo Soup
Ingredients:

• 24 pancit molo balls
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• ½ lb. shrimp, peeled (keep head for broth)
• ¼ tsp. black pepper, grind
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 6 cups chicken broth
• Scallion or green onion for garnish

Instructions:

• Set the Instant Pot on sauté mode.  Sauté garlic until fragrant. Set aside half of the garlic for garnish.
• Add shallot and shrimp including the shrimp head. (Shrimp head adds a lot of flavor to the broth).
• Add broth, salt and pepper and let it boil. Once it is boiling, you can remove the shrimp head and the shrimp. (If it is too much work, no need to add shrimp head. Remove the shrimp once it is boiling to prevent overcooked shrimp).
• And pancit molo balls and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
• Garnish with garlic and green onion.

Note:

• You can also make a broth from shrimp head if you like. We usually chopped the shrimp head, boil and strain. If it is too much work for you, just omit the shrimp head and use a regular broth.