Wonton Soup

Wonton Soup

Wonton soup is a dish I grew up with.  Tender dumplings filled with lean ground pork and prawns in chicken broth.  I found it to be rather comforting on a cold winter’s day.  Now my kids enjoy it when it’s being served at their grandparents.  It’s one of their favourite dishes.   

I recently asked my Mom for her recipe.  She listed off the ingredients but when she cooks, its more like, “add some soya sauce, not too much pepper, a little sesame oil…”.  As to the amount, it’s anybody’s guess.

I experimented and came up with my own measurements.  The final result?  It tastes just like my Mom’s!  I did leave out water chestnuts since I’m not a fan.  If desired, you can add 3 chopped water chestnuts to the recipe.

How To Wrap a Wonton

There are many ways to wrap a wonton.  This is how I did it:

1)  Place a wrapper in the palm of your hand.
2)  Add a teaspoon of the meat mixture to the middle of the wrapper.
3)  Dip one finger in water and wet the area around the meat mixture.
3)  Enclose the meat mixture by bringing two opposite corners together.
4)  Gather and fold the other two corners inside the opposite corners.
5)  Pinch the area just above the filling to seal.

The wonton should resemble a pouch gathered in the middle.

Wontons should be cooked separately from the chicken broth.  The wrappers contain an excessive amount of flour to prevent sticking.  Boiling the wontons separately prevents the broth from becoming cloudy and thick like glue.

This recipe makes enough to fill an entire package of wrappers, approximately 5 1/2 dozen.  Freeze the rest for a quick soup.