An Ilonggo favorite: 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.

One of the first questions always asked is "Where's the Pancit?". With pancit as a sort of "prefix" to the name of the dish, first timers always for the noodle-like component of the dish.

It's then explained that the pancit is actually the molo ball wrappers which is basically of the same mix as any pancit/noodles.

Pancit Molo is more of a household specialty and the recipe varies from household to household. From the meat filling mix to the soup, there could be a hundred and one ways of making pancit molo.

Pancit Molo Filling

I suggest to make this days before the actual cooking of pancit molo so that the flavours will be full.

Ingredients

1 kilo Ground pork
1/2 cup cup minced Garlic
1/4 cup chopped kusay, sibuyas na mura (Take note: kinchay is different)
2 pcs Tahure, salted soy bean cubes (It's like salt/soy sauce cured tofu)
Salt
Pepper
Soy Sauce

Procedure

In a bowl, combine ground pork, garlic, kusay and tahure. Mix well. Check out this blogpost for tips.
Season with a bit of salt, pepper nd soy sauce.
In a pan with heated oil, take a take portion of filling mix and fry. This will be your taste test - if the fried patty gets your thumbs up, then you can store the whole mix.
Divide the mix into 1/4 or 1/3 portions and wrapped in plastic for convenience
Store in the freezer for future use.

Aside from making a soup, you can also fry these meat mixture like a patty and become an instant ulam.

Pancit Molo Balls
Procedure

Make pancit molo balls using the meat mix and a Pancit Molo (wonton) wrapper. You can get this from wet markets or groceries. Outside the Philippines, it will be most likely found in Asian stores .
To wrap, place a small portion of the meat mix in one corner (quadrant) of the molo wrapper.
Take the corner and fold the wrapper towards the center tucking it under the meat forming a triangle with a wide base
Take the two sides of the wrap and fold it towards the center.Check out this photo. But be sure that your ball looks like a bishop's mitre or head gear like this.
Use water or egg white to "fasten" and secure the wrapped molo balls.

You can also deep fry these balls for a crunch Pancit Molo balls!

Pancit Molo Soup

Ingredients

Pancit Molo Balls
Chicken breast, shredded
Chicken broth and/or chicken broth cubes
Shrimps, shelled
Garlic, minced
Onions, sliced
Kusay,chopped
Salt
Pepper
Oil

Procedure

In a heated pan, place oil the fry garlic until crunchy. Set aside half for toppings.
Add onions, chicken breast and shrimps. I usually make pancit molo soup with lots chicken.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add chicken broth and or shrimp broth (Place shrimps shells in a strainer and then mash it in a bowl of hot water to bring out the flavour). Adjust flavour using broth cubes and more salt/pepper. But remember the balls will also give more flavour to the broth once added.
Add pancit molo balls and let it boil for 3-5 minutes. Or until the balls start to float.
Remove from heat and transfer in a bowl.
Garnish with fried garlic and chopped kusay.

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

A native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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