It’s hard to believe it’s June in California when we’re running errands today with our rain boots and winter jackets! But whether it’s June or January, if it’s cold outside, I start dreaming about what kind of soup I want to make. One of my favorite soups of all time is wonton soup with it’s savory, clear broth, veggies and tasty little pork meatballs nestled inside chewy dumpling-like wrappers.
I used to make fried wontons a lot for parties or just to eat as many as I wanted for as long as I wanted (sort of kidding), but as I get older, the desire to binge on fried food (or bags of Milano cookies for that matter) just doesn’t have the same appeal as it once did. Or maybe the result of eating like that is the unappealing part. Whatever the case is, I still love wontons, but I enjoy them a lot more in a healthy, homemade soup that soothes my body and my soul.
I’ve had a lot of wonton soup in my day, but I have to say that the homemade wontons make it exceptionally delicious and enjoying it at home is way more satisfying than picking it up at a local Chinese restaurant.
Yes, it’s chilly outside (see the image I took from my window below), but this wonton soup is so quick and delicious, I’d probably make it if it were 85 degrees outside – well, if I had the AC cranked up!
Wonton Soup with Homemade Wonton Wrappers
Ingredients
- 1 small chicken cut up and skinned
- 5 ribs large bok chok cut in chunks
- 2 cups snow peas strings removed
- 2 teaspoonsgrated ginger plus a few slices
- 2-3 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 pound ground pork
- 4-5 stalks green onions
- a few tablespoons soy sauce depending on taste
- a little sesame oil
- 6 water chestnuts finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro roughly chopped
- a splash olive oil
- For the wonton wrappers
- 2 cups flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 or more water
Instructions
- Place chicken, one peeled onion, 3 slices of ginger, a few green onions, 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt into a large stock pot and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for about 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked completely. Remove the chicken, slice, discard bones and set aside.
- Strain the stock by pouring through a sieve or cheesecloth.
- Note: If you want a richer broth, you can remove the meat and return the bones to the pot and simmer for another hour or two. Also, the veggies are for flavoring the stock, so no need to chop. You also want to discard them after the chicken is cooked because they will be too mushy to enjoy.
- For the wonton wrappers, sift two cups of flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. In small bowl, beat one egg, 1/4 cup water and 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Add mixture in center of flour and mix. Add additional water, a little at a time until the dough is forming a ball and sticking together without being too sticky. I ended up using more than 1/2 cup.
- Once dough is the right consistency, turn out onto floured surface and knead for about five minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap or cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll out to get as thin as possible and cut little 2 inch squares. Place them on parchment paper and cover each layer with another layer of parchment paper (do not layer on top of one another - they will stick). I made about 20 wrappers out of the batch.
- You can refrigerate until ready to use (up to two days) or freeze if you are not making the soup right away.
- For the wonton filling, add ground pork, 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, a few drops sesame oil, water chestnuts and cornstarch. It's optional, but I also add a little olive oil.
- Note: You will not use all the pork mixture. You can freeze or use the remaining pork for fried wontons (but you'd have to make another batch of dough). That's what I'm doing tomorrow : )
- With your hands, mix for a few minutes until all the ingredients are completely blended.
- For wonton assembly, bring fresh pot of water to a boil. This will be for cooking the wontons.
- On one square wrapper, place about 1 rounded teaspoon of the pork in center, fold one
- corner over to opposite corner to form a triangle. Now with that pointy corner facing you, take the two side corners and pinch them together away from you. To be honest, the dough is so flexible, you can fold them any way you like. Here is a link to a really simple video here if you are nervous about it. http://bit.ly/bYU6Df
- Depending on how large your pot of boiling water is, place enough wontons so that the pot is not overcrowded (probably about 7). Drop the wontons in the water and turn heat down slightly. Boil for about four minutes, or until they come to the top and the meat in the middle is cooked. Place in shallow bowl with some of the chicken stock. Repeat until all the wontons are done.
- For the soup, bring chicken stock to boil and add about 2 cups of the sliced chicken, bok chok and snow peas. Cook for a few minutes.
- To serve, add about five wontons to individual serving bowls, ladle the broth and veggies over the wontons, add a little soy sauce and a couple drops of sesame oil, and garnish with thinly sliced green onions and fresh cilantro.
- Let the slurping begin!
I am a “Wonton Fan” Thank you Jodi Nina for sharing!
Oh please send me a bowl of your beautiful soup, I’m hungry!
Looks wonderful and won ton is a favorite of mine 🙂
Thanks Diane! : )
I know, what’s not to love about wontons?!
Usually I just buy the wonton wrappers and then fill them–I’m impressed that you make the broth and the wrappers. My daughter would love this; she always orders won ton soup, she eats the dumplings, I slurp the broth.
I used to buy the wrappers too, but they are so dry and they typically open up when you cook them. It’s so nice to work with the fresh ones because the dough can be shaped so easily and tastes so much better. I too love the broth!!
I love to make things from scratch that most people buy from the store but I never even considered making wonton skins. How cool! I’m pinning this. I’m enjoying your site.
Thank you Paula! I enjoy your site too!
I love Wonton Soup! I’ll definitely be trying this one out 🙂