Wonton Soup
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004
This is one of the most popular soups in street stalls in southern China and also very popular in Chinese restaurants in the West. Wonton is derived from yun tun, Mandarin for "swallowing clouds." Peer into a fragrant bowl of clear chicken broth floating plump, billowing wontons, and it all makes perfect sense. The wontons are filled with a mixture of meat (usually pork) and seasonings and boiled, and then added to a stock.
Notes: Some recipes call for adding very thin pieces of julienned pork to the soup (about 1 cup). You can use Red Cooked Pork for this or leftover pork roast. Also, wontons can be purchased pre-made in the frozen food section of Asian, and some American, supermarkets making this a very quick meal to put together. Once soup is finished, add a few drops of sesame oil.
FMM: We purchased the wontons for this recipe which makes it very easy to make. It is very good although the soup stock was not as flavorful as I thought it could be. The next day the broth had absorbed flavors from the bok choy, pork and wontons and was much better. We will definitely make this again.
Soup Stock
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
10 cups canned low sodium chicken broth
Wontons
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
3 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
1/2 pound ground pork
1 egg yolk (use egg white for sealing wontons?)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
About 30 wonton wrappers, thawed if frozen
To Finish Soup
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced bok choy (Chinese cabbage)
1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1/4 cup sliced bamboo shoots
Garnish
thinly sliced scallions
Make soup stock
In a large saucepan or soup pot heat the oil over medium high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon garlic and 1 tablespoon ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the 1/4 cup of sliced scallions and the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low so that the broth just simmers. Allow broth to simmer for at least 20 to 30 minutes while the wontons are being assembled.
Make wontons
In a small mixing bowl combine the teaspoon of minced garlic, tablespoon of chopped ginger, 3 tablespoons of finely chopped scallions, the pork, egg yolk, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and crushed red pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Working on a flat work surface, lay out a few of the wontons. (Keep remaining wonton wrappers covered with plastic wrap.) Fill a small bowl partially with cool water and set aside.
Using a teaspoon measure, place a heaping teaspoonful of the meat filling in the center of each wonton. Using your fingers, lightly wet the edges of the wonton. Bring 2 opposite corners of the wonton together to form a triangle and enclose the filling, pressing edges firmly around the mound of filling to eliminate any air pockets and seal. Moisten opposite corners of the long side. Curl moistened corners toward each other, overlapping one on top of the other, and press the edges together to seal. You should now have a rounded stuffed wonton with a triangle poking up at the top. Assemble the remaining wontons in the same manner.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and poach the wontons in it, in batches of 3-4, for about 1 1/2 minutes, or when they float to the top.
To finish the soup
Add the sliced bok choy, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots to the broth and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Using your hands or a slotted spoon, gently add the prepared wontons to the simmering broth. Increase the heat slightly so that the broth returns to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally (very gently) and simmer for 2 minutes more. Serve immediately, garnished with green onions.
6 - 8 servings
Note: Wontons can be made 1 month ahead. Freeze in 1 layer on a plastic-wrap-lined baking sheet until firm, about 30 minutes, then transfer to a sealable plastic bag and keep frozen.
