The funny thing about eating out in Metro Manila is that you’d find more Western than Asian food. The fastfood chains are the kings. Their usual fare consists of fried chicken (that’s a mainstay), spaghetti, pizza, french fries and sundae. Among Asian restaurants, half would be Chinese, a fourth would be Japanese and the remaining fourth would be Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Middle Eastern and the rest. Personally, I prefer Chinese. My kids prefer Japanese. My husband prefers steaks. On one of those rare occasions when everyone was agreeable to try something new, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant. We’ve gone there several times since. “Rice Noodles and Dumplings” is my version of a Vietnamese noodle soup we enjoyed there.
Ingredients :
250 grams of dried rice noodles (flat variety)
For the dumplings :
25 pcs. wonton wrappers
1/4 kilo of ground lean pork
1 egg, beaten
1/8 cup of finely chopped carrots
1 tbsp. of finely chopped onion leaves
1/2 tsp. of minced garlic
1/8 cup of finely chopped white onions
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
For the broth :
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp of oil
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 head of Chinese cabbage
6-8 cups of chicken or beef stock
chopped onion leaves for garnish
Cooking procedure :
Mix the pork, egg, garlic, chopped carrots, onion and onion leaves together. Season with salt and pepper. Fill each wonton wrapper with about a tablespoon of the mixture (if using small wrappers, reduce the filling). Set aside.
Saute the garlic and onions in oil. Pour in the broth. Bring to a boil. Add the rice noodles. Do not lower the heat. Scoop out the noodles after 2 minutes (or refer to package directions; just don’t overcook it) and transfer to a serving bowl. Bring the broth to a boil once more and drop the dumplings one by one, not too fast as the temperature will drop drastically. When the last dumpling is in, lower the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and add the carrots. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and simmer for another minute. Adjust seasoning (if the stock had been seasoned, this may not be necessary). Turn off the heat and pour the broth, vegetables and dumplings onto the noodles. Stir a little to distribute. Sprinkle with chopped onion leaves and serve hot.
Hi Miss Connie,
Para saan po yung egg? i was looking at the pot stickers recipe and that one didn’t have an egg added to the ground meat. i remember my mom also added eggs to the ground pork when cooking fried meatballs.
You don’t need any egg for dumpling filling. Even burgers or fried meatballs don’t need eggs if the meat is ground very finely and there is enough fat in it.