Filipino wonton soup

Originating from the town of Molo – hence its name pancit Molo – this is the Filipino answer to wonton soup. This is a serious soup designed for meat lovers as it contains prawn, pork, chicken, ham and eggs.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• ½ brown onion, chopped and boiled until translucent, drained
• 250 g chicken mince
• 150 g green prawn meat, chopped
• 1 spring onions, finely sliced
• ½ large carrot, finely chopped
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• 30 wonton wrappers

Broth

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 brown onion, sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp annatto seeds (see Note), ground
• 1.5 litres (6 cups) good-quality chicken stock
• 300 g smoked pork bones
• 250 g chicken breast
• 2 slices of ham
• 1–2 tsp fish sauce or to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 soft boiled eggs (1 per person), halved
• sliced spring onions, to serve

The following recipe has been tested and edited by SBS Food and may differ slightly from the podcast.

Instructions

To make the broth, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook for 3–4 minutes until the onion softens. Add the annatto powder and fry for a further 1 minute before adding the chicken stock and pork bones. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add chicken breast and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Remove the pork bones and strip the meat. Remove the chicken breast and shred. Add fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, to prepare the dumplings, blanch the onion in a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes until translucent, drain. Mix the onion and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pick up the dumpling mixture and forcefully throw it back into the bowl, slapping the filling onto the surface. Do this 20–30 times until sticky (this ensures a light but firm texture). Lay a wonton wrapper on a clean work surface and place a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the centre of the wrapper. Brush the edges lightly with water and fold into a triangle shape. Fold the two corners of the triangles together and press to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Return stock to the boil, add the dumplings and cook for 5 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through.

To serve, divide dumplings and soup between deep bowls. Top with the shredded chicken, pork meat, ham, spring onions and a soft boiled egg.

Note

• Annatto seeds come from the achiote tree and are used to impart colour and a nutty and peppery flavour to a wide variety of dishes. You can buy annatto seeds from Indian and Latin grocers.

Photography by Alan Benson

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.