The only person I know that makes pancit molo is my Auntie Belinda. Whether I was 7 years old and finished playing the backyard or visiting her vacation house in the Philippines, she always had a pot of this soup ready for us kids. Pancit is one of the national dishes of the Philippines but it doesn’t have a consistent identity. Most people think of bihon glass noodles with shredded vegetables in a big foil pan. Others may have grown up with shrimp infused palabok with hard boiled eggs and crushed chicharron.

Pancit molo is Filipino dumpling soup. The dumplings are filled with very little meat or vegetable so that the dumpling wrapper wings flap gloriously and freely in the broth. Replace the filling with any dumpling mix or super finely shredded stir fry. I already had truffle edamame dumplings already made, so they are pictured above.

For the meat filling

1. Remove the skin from the sausage and form into 20 small balls.

2. Place a ball in the center of each dumpling wrapper, wipe the edges with the beaten egg and seal closed like a half moon.

Vegetarian dumplings

1. Pulse the edamame and salt in a food processor until they are broken up into small pieces.

2. Slowly add the truffle oil to form a smooth paste. If it does not come together, add up to 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

3. Scoop 2 teaspoons of edamame filling into the center of each dumpling wrapper, wipe the edges with the beaten egg and seal closed like a half moon.

To assemble

1. Keep the finished dumplings in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes. 

2. If you’re not making the soup right away, divide the dumplings into individual serving sizes of 5 in plastic zip bags.

3. To serve the soup, bring the broth to a boil and cook the dumplings for 3 minutes.

4. Bring the heat down to low and continue to cook until the dumplings are wrinkled in the center.

5. Ladle dumplings and soup into four bowls.

6. Top with shredded cabbage, sesame seeds, and a little pepper. If you’d like more salt, add a dash of soy sauce.

Did you grow up with pancit molo? Tell me about your version!