Chinese Wonton Soup Recipe
I dream of this Chinese Wonton Soup recipe almost every week. This addictive soup is simple to make and very rewarding. These tasty little dumplings are believed to have been introduced to the West by early Chinatown settlers from Canton, Southern China. Wonton literally means “swallowing clouds” in Chinese. You can make the wontons ahead of time and freeze them on a baking sheet. Make the broth ahead of time and freeze it also for wonton soup or other nourishing meals.
Chinese Homemade Wonton Soup
Makes 30-40 wontons, Serves 6
Broth:
1 small whole chicken or 1/2 a medium size with giblets 2 quarts water plus 1/2 cup, or to cover
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
A 4-inch long piece of ginger, peeled and smashed
1 lb. Onions, quartered
6 celery sticks, cut into thirds
24 small dried black mushrooms, wood ear, shiitake, or other
3 carrots, cut in half and thirds
1 pod of garlic whole
3 black peppercorns
Shells from the shrimp (6 ounces of shells from wonton filling)
Clean the chicken inside and out. Pour water into a large pot. Add the salt and stir. Add the ginger, peppercorns, onions, celery, mushrooms, shrimp shells, and carrots. Place the chicken, breast side up, on top of the vegetables, add the giblets, cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and place the lid ajar on top of the pot. Allow it to come to a gentle boil for 30 minutes. Then turn the chicken over and cook for an additional 45 minutes longer. Turn the heat off and allow it to cool for 20 minutes.
Once the liquid has cooled slightly remove the chicken from the broth and reserve. Drain the remaining broth with a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Place the liquid back into the cooking pot and keep it hot until ready to use.
Wonton Filling:
12 ounces of ground pork
6 ounces shrimp, shells removed and deveined, cut in half, and then 1/4” pcs.
5 scallions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
3 water chestnuts, finely sliced
2 teaspoons white rice wine
1 teaspoon ginger, finely grated
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of white pepper
1 large egg
Filling instructions:Place all the ingredients into a large bowl. Using chopsticks or a wooden spoon, mix the ingredients together, stirring in them in one direction. Stirring this way ensures that the mixture will be cohesive. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or longer. The longer the filling refrigerates the firmer the filling will be, making it easier to work with.
Dust a baking sheet with the cornstarch. Have a small bowl filled with water for your hands. Place the wonton sheets on the work surface, covered with a damp towel.
Hold a wrapper in one hand and place 1 tablespoon of the filling in its center. Dip a blunt butter knife into the water and dampen the edges of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, creating a rectangular envelope shape. Crip the edges of the wrapper
together with a forefinger and thumb. Dampen on the corner of the fold bottom edge of the wrapper, and gently pull the side ends together, overlapping the wet corner slightly with its opposite dry one. Press them together to adhere creating a bowline shape. The folded wontons will somewhat resemble Italian tortellini. Repeat until all the wrappers are filled. As you are filling place them on the prepared dusted baking sheet.
In a large pot, bring water, salt, and peanut oil to a boil over high heat. Add the wontons to the pot and allow the water to return to a boil. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the wontons float to the top and their skins turn translucent. Turn off the heat and remove the wontons with a strainer. Transfer them to a bowl and drizzle the 2 tablespoons of sesame oil over them, mix well so they don’t stick together.
40 wonton wrappers
Cornstarch for dusting the baking sheet
BOILING WONTONS IN WATER:
2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon peanut oil
4 teaspoon sesame oil, drizzle on cooked wontons when removed from the water. Reserve until ready to serve.
OPTIONAL CONDIMENTS:
4 small bok choy, blanched until tender, finely chopped (optional) 4 Cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced and chopped finely (optional) 2 scallions, diced finely for topping
Serving:
Once all the wontons are cooked and you are ready to make the soup. Place the desired amount of wontons in each bowl, add the scallions, cooked bok choy, and sliced mushrooms, and pour the broth over everything, top with a dusting of scallions. Now you’re ready to serve the soup. Make sure you add enough broth so the wontons are floating in the bowl. Drizzle with soy sauce or sesame oil if you’d like for added flavor.