Presto Pasta Night: My Comfort Food, Wonton Soup

It's beautiful outside.  My roses are blooming, the birds are singing, my nose is stuffy and I sneeze constantly. It's the price to pay for the majesty of spring.   I decided my nasal congestion entitled me to make one of my favorite comfort foods, Wonton soup.   I''ve been in love with it since we met.  I was 19 years old and it was my first visit to the Peking Restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana.   I looked at the soup and saw perfection.  The broth was crystal clear, but full of rich chicken flavor.   The wontons looked like plump little pillows, cooked just before they served me the soup.  Resting on top of were a few slivers of Chinese roasted pork.  I lived in West Lafayette for several years and ate many bowls of that marvelous soup.   Imagine my surprise when we moved away and I began to encounter the soggy, overcooked wonton soup so often served in other restaurants. It's a shame.  And it doesn't have to be that way people!!  Buy yourself a package of wonton wrappers and make some soup the way it was intended.

By the way, wonton wrappers are pasta, so that means it's just perfect for Presto Pasta Nights, created by Ruth at  Once Upon A Feast.  The Roundup should be this Thursday, so stop by and see all the different pasta dishes.

There are many different recipes for wonton soup. I've made it with leftover Thanksgiving turkey   and chopped Chinese roast pork. But, my favorite recipe uses ground pork and shrimp. Sometimes I've replaced the pork with ground turkey (the kind that contains dark meat) and it tasted fine.  I think the filling isn't as important as the wonton wrappers.

Making the wonton is simple, but it takes some time.   Always cover your wonton wrappers with a cloth, as they dry out quickly when exposed to air. Never let them sit uncovered, as they are in the picture.

I always enjoy making them with another person. I miss the times my mother and I prepared them, arguing about the proper way to make them. She felt each one should be perfect, stuffed with exactly the same amount of filling. I prefer a free form method, and not one my wontons are ever exactly alike. I often use several different methods of shaping each dumpling, which annoyed mom immensely.  Here's the method which most people use.  You'll find directions for this on the package the wrappers come in.

As you can see, my wontons are rather haphazardly rolled. But, that's OK because they'll taste like little heavenly clouds when they're cooked.  You can freeze them at this point and use them at your leisure.  Just drop them into some boiling water or broth. I never cook my wontons in the broth because the wrappers are dusted with a light layer of cornstarch, to prevent them from sticking together. That will make your broth a little cloudy. So, I boil them in water.

Once they are done (in this case it took about 4 minutes) scoop them out and put them in a serving bowl, then add the broth.  If you cook wontons and let them sit in hot broth too long, it will destroy the character of the lovely thin pasta. So, they should be eaten as soon as possible after they're cooked.  You can cover the raw wontons with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for several hours, until you're ready to use them.

We always have the soup alone, with nothing else. This is Bob's bowl.  He was very happy as he ate this.

Wonton Soup

(Williams-Sonoma)


For the wontons:
1/2 lb. ground pork (you can substitute ground turkey)
1/4 lb. peeled shrimp, chopped
1/4 cup finely minced green onions
1 egg
2 Tbs. light soy sauce
1 Tbs. dry sherry
2 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1 tsp. minced ginger root
Salt, to taste, if needed
1 package (1 lb.) wonton wrappers


8 cups low-sodium chicken broth simmered with
3 or 4 slices peeled fresh ginger for 10 to 15
  minutes
1 large bunch spinach, tough stems removed,
  leaves washed and cut into wide strips   



To make the wontons, in a medium bowl, combine the pork, shrimp, and green onions. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil and ginger juice. Stir the egg mixture into the pork mixture, mixing well. Bring a saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil, add a small ball of the pork mixture to the water, and poach until cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, taste and adjust the seasonings with soy sauce, ginger root or a little salt.

To assemble the wontons, lay out a wrapper and place a teaspoon or so of the mixture in the center of each wrapper. Dip your finger in water and spread along two edges of each wrapper. Fold each in half on the diagonal to form a triangle and press the seams to seal securely. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the stuffing is used; you should have about 48 wontons. Wrap any leftover wrappers airtight and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Refrigerate the wontons until needed.

In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer. At the same time, bring a large saucepan half-full of water to a boil. Carefully drop the wontons into the boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, add 1 1/2 cups cold water. When the water returns to a boil, add 1 more cup cold water. Return to a boil again, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the filling is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the wontons to the simmering broth. Add the spinach and simmer until it wilts, about 1 minute.

To serve, ladle the soup into 6 large warmed bowls, dividing the wontons evenly. Serves 6.

Comments

[Lydia]

Wonton soup was a favorite when I was a kid, too. But because I don't eat pork, I would eat the soup and the wonton skins and leave the filling behind! These days I make a turkey filling much like yours, and I eat the whole thing. It is definitely comfort food.

[Anh]

Sher, I love wonton soup. My flatmate, who is of Chinese background, can eat the whole thing! :) Like Lydia, I substitute pork with chicken/turkey mince, and throw into some minced water chestnuts... Your soup makes me so hungry now. :D

[s'kat]

I haven't had wonton soup in years, for the very reasons you mention! Thank you for the step-by-step instructions... this would be so nice to have ready and waiting in the freezer!

[gattina]

Sher, now I call you wonton master :) :) Yes, the chefs/cooks in Hongkong also cook wotons in boiling water first! Oh boy, I think I can have 2 x Bob's bowl!!!
Now I suddenly remember one interesting thing when I traveled to Beijing @ Tsing Dau, Northern China (I was in collegue back then...) we got to order dumplings not by how many bowls but how many pounds we wanted. Our mind went blank; sometimes ended up coming with a basin-size bowl, but we still could finish everything!

[Laurel]

I, too, suffer from hay-fever and I grew up right in your parts. Daily life could get my sinuses truly clogged. So I always relied on soup to clear my head. #1 pick--WONTON SOUP! Just had a bowl last night in preparation for skiing today at the Lake. Great blog!!! Thanks.

[Tanna]

I have a favorite won ton soup that I haven't made for a couple of years. I'm getting that out to do soon. I've never filled my own wonton but now I must! yours look so sweet.
I like your memory of your mom.
Could you dust the wonton with arrowroot and then not get cloudy broth?

[Linda, The Village Vegetable]

yum yum yum this is exactly what i need right now! i'm ill and some wonton soup sounds like the perfect remedy... i just may be forced to order some for lunch.

[Butta Buns]

Beautiful job on the dumplings, they look even and so lovingly shaped! What do you mean haphazard? Actually, I can understand. My father was the same way when it came to food prep, he was the biggest alpha cook and everything had to be just so. It drove me nuts back then but now I remember it fondly. Just to spice things up, I'd intentionally chop veggies the "wrong" way to tease him. Ahhh, memories.

[mandira]

The soup looks delicious, especially the wontons. I have to try it, hopefully Aswin will be as excited as Bob :)

[gilly]

Oh, I just adore wonton soup! Your wontons are so expertly folded - just beautiful. I've made it with cabbage, but I really like the idea of using spinach.

[Jenn]

Oh YUM! I looove wonton soup. I found some a couple months ago in the freezer section of Wal-Mart. I thawed it and heated it and it was so good - they were shrimp wontons- my fave. Then Wal-Mart was bought by a Korean super chain and they got rid of all the wonton soup. So sad. I was thinking about making some but many of the recipes I saw called for water chestnuts - which I love, but can't find here. I think I'm going to try your recipe though! Thanks!!

[Victoria]

HAHA! makes me feel almost GUILTY that I can't wrap wontons half as pretty as those and I'm supposed to be ahem...chinese...

[Lannae]

Ah, what a lovely choice for soup! I love won ton soup, it is so comforting! yummm!

[Glenna]

that looks like a little taste of heaven!

[Alisha]

Oh I love wonton soup! I haven't made it ages, though. Thanks for the reminder -- I may have to put it on the menu for this next week. Yum!

BTW, I use the recipe from the Frugal Gourmet in his Three Ancient Cuisines book. Off the top of my head I don't remember how it differs from yours but I can't imagine by much.

[Ruth]

I too fell in love with wonton soup when I was young and haven't fallen out of love yet!

Thanks for the great recipe and beautiful photos! It's perfect for Presto Pasta Nights

[Jenny]

Now that's what I call wonton soup!

[Julie]

Goodness gracious! I love wonton soup but haven't had it for ages. You inspire me to do something about that.

[aria]

hey, i didn't see these! ohman, i'm in trouble now. looks AWESOME.

[Lisa]

That looks amazingly good. I love the step-by-step photos. I have a friend who wants to make this soup (for the first time); I'm sending her a link! Thanks for sharing.

[bea at La tartine gourmande]

Oh I hope your nose gets better. You ARE lucky to have Spring though. Here we are still in a lingering winter. As to the soup, I love it! All over. It reminds me that I have not made one like this in a while and since I have wonton wrappers in the freezer, I definitely should!

[Jennifer]

It's 6am...my stomach is growling for some Wonton soup and chinese food! LOL!!

[hgcuig]

Nice idea to cook a test meatball to adjust the seasoning. Boiling the wonton in water is another good idea. Now I'm wondering how they made that clear broth. Alton Brown on the Food Network Channel showed several interesting ways to wrap wontons in his 'Wonton Ways' episode.

[Cassandra]

Hi,

I've just come across this recipe / description now, even though you've written it ages ago. Thanks, it's such a helpful step-by-step description of making wonton soup (which I love). I'll definitely try it.

Take care