A quick soup or a companion for life? Check out this Wonton soup recipe to discover what pleasures in lightness are rife!
As exciting Chinese culinary can be with a myriad of spices and herbs in the most basic looking recipes, Wonton Soup is setting us up for a big or rather bleak surprise. Wonton Soup is nothing more than a couple of meat filled dumplings, floating in a yellowish liquid.
Of course, this shouldn’t come as a surprise if we know Cantonese, as the word “wonton” itself roughly translates to “cloud” which is exactly what the flappy wontons do in a bowl of soup.
For those ,who have already met with potstickers or their Japanese counterparts the Gyoza, may wonder what’s the difference between those dumplings and wontons.
Unlike wonton soup, that we could classify as a clear soup, this is rather a murky territory as there should be some differences between wonton and jiaozi but those unlearned of the lore of Chinese cooking these differences are thin.
Wontons supposed to be smaller dumplings, wrapped into a 6 x 6cm2 square thin wrapper, made of flour, water and generally eggs so they get a yellowish color while jiaozis are wrapped into slightly thicker round sheets that may or may not contain some eggs.
We may find starker differences if we dive deeper in the general usage of the dumplings as wontons are generally served with soups -except when pan fried as guotie (potsticker)- while jiaozis are mostly saved from floating in a bowl and frequently eaten dipped into sauces.
Wontons can be added to many soups and people like to use the possibility of enriching their creations with it, but if there is nothing else in a soup but wontons, the soup becomes a wonton soup.
Thanks to the achievements of modern technology and globalization, making Wonton soup has become as easy as popping open a prepared chicken stock and cooking shop bought frozen wontons in it anywhere in the world where there are Asian stores available in our vicinity.
Luckily for those, who live out of reach of such convenience or simply prefer the superior flavors and unique textures of freshly made food, Wonton soup can be made from scratch easily at home.
Sure, if we want speed, a prepared stock from the freezer or from the fridge will speed up the cooking process considerably, but even doing everything from scratch doesn’t take longer than an hour.
Having stock ready with two busy hands, we can easily make Wonton soup in 30 minutes top with extra dumplings to save for next time.
Since Wonton soup is being a rather unassuming dish with little else than flavor to please our taste buds, it’s paramount to create a character for our soup by seasoning it richly. Luckily, broths are never a letdown when filled with the right ingredients.
The soft chewiness of the wonton dumplings are perfect companion of the rich whirling of flavors in hearth warming bowl of golden soup.
Unassuming as it may be, once tried, there are few who’s heart won’t light up when sees starch covered meatballs flapping gently in our bowls like soft fluffy clouds on the late summer’s sky.
Ingredients
Wonton
Beginner
- Wonton dumplings
Advanced
- Wonton wrappers (100)
- 1 lb / 500g Pork (ground)
- 1 lb / 500g Bok choy or cabbage (finely cut or shredded)
- 2 teaspoons / 10g Salt
- 1 cloves / 3g Garlic (grated)
- ¼” / 5g Ginger (grated)
- 1 tablespoon / 15g Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons / 5g Chives or green onion (finely cut)
Overkill
- 2 medium / 100g Eggs
- 1 teaspoon / 5g Salt
- 4 cups / 500g Plain white flour
- ½ – 1 cup / 120g – 240g Water (depending on flour water content, start with a tablespoon)
- 1 lb / 500g Pork (ground)
- 1 lb / 500g Bok choy or cabbage (finely cut or shredded)
- 2 teaspoons / 10g Salt
- 1 cloves / 3g Garlic (grated)
- ¼” / 5g Ginger (grated)
- 1 tablespoon / 15g Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons / 5g Chives or green onion (finely cut)
Soup
- 3 cups / 750g Stock or broth (Check out: Bone Broth Recipe)
- 2 cloves / 6g Garlic (smashed)
- ½” / 10g Ginger (sliced)
- 1½ tablespoon / 25g Soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon / 2.5g Sesame seed oil
- 2 pieces / 50 Green onion
- 1½ tablespoon / 25g Chinese cooking wine (optional)
How to make Wonton soup
Wontons
Beginner
- Buy frozen wontons in the nearest store selling them.
Advanced
- Buy wonton wrappers in the nearest store selling them.
- Mix ground pork, finely cut or better shredded bok choy or cabbage, salt, grated garlic, ginger, soy sauce and chives in a bowl. Wonton wrappers are small so we’ll need small pieces to be able to wrap them up nicely.
- Place a tablespoon (10g) of filling in the middle of a wrap.
- Wet the dough along the edges so it will stick. Close it up to a rectangle.
- Fold the corners back down to the middle. Stick them together with a touch of more water. Wonton wraps similar to spring rolls tend to dry out quickly. Cover them with a damp cloth until used.
Overkill
- Knead eggs, salt and plain flour by adding water to the dough one tablespoon at the time. Mind not to add too much water as it will make a soft dough that is hard to work with. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes or meanwhile the fillings are prepared.
- Mix ground pork, finely cut or better shredded bok choy or cabbage, salt, grated garlic, ginger, soy sauce and chives in a bowl. Wonton wrappers are small so we’ll need small pieces to be able to wrap them up nicely.
- Roll the dough out. Do it in batches if necessary. Cut it into 3″ / 7.5cm squares. Rework the leftover until there is no more dough left. Keep the wraps under a damp cloth until used.
- Place a tablespoon (10g) of filling in the middle of a wrap.
- Wet the dough along the edges so it will stick. Close it up to a rectangle.
- Fold the corners back down to the middle. Stick them together with a touch of more water. Wonton wraps, similar to spring rolls tend to dry out quickly. Cover them with a damp cloth until used.
Soup
- Heat stock and add grated crushed garlic, sliced ginger, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, white part of green onion and optional cooking wine. This is also the time to add any additional vegetables if used.
- Bring it to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook the optional added vegetables to the desired texture if any. Take them out along with the ginger and garlic.
- Add in the Wontons. Optionally, use a separate pot with water as the starch from the wontons can turn the water a bit murky.
- Some dumplings like to stick to the bottom. Release them gently with a spatula.
- Once the wontons are ready, they will come up the surface crying for help.
- Take the wonton dumplings out and let them drip.
- Chop green onion for dressing the wonton soup up. Serve the soup with wonton dumplings and sprinkle some green onion slices on top.
Enjoy!
Wonton Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Wontons
Beginner
- 150 pieces Wonton dumplings
Advanced
- 150 Wonton wrappers
- 1 lb Pork ground
- 1 lb Bok choy or cabbage finely cut or shredded
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 cloves Garlic grated
- ¼" Ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons Chives or green onion finely cut
Overkill
- 2 medium Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 4 cups Plain white flour
- ¾ cup Water depending on flour water content, start with a tablespoon
- 1 lb Pork ground
- 1 lb Bok choy or cabbage finely cut or shredded
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 cloves Garlic grated
- ¼" Ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons Chives or green onion finely cut
Soup
- 3 cups Stock or broth Check out: Bone Broth Recipe
- 2 cloves Garlic smashed
- ½" Ginger sliced
- 1½ tablespoon Soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Sesame seed oil
- 2 pieces Green onion
- 1½ tablespoon Chinese cooking wine optional
Instructions
Wontons
Beginner
- Buy frozen wontons in the nearest store selling them.
Advanced
- Buy wonton wrappers in the nearest store selling them.
- Mix ground pork, finely cut or better shredded bok choy or cabbage, salt, grated garlic, ginger, soy sauce and chives in a bowl. Wonton wrappers are small so we’ll need small pieces to be able to wrap them up nicely.
- Place a tablespoon (10g) of filling in the middle of a wrap.
- Wet the dough along the edges so it will stick. Close it up to a rectangle.
- Fold the corners back down to the middle. Stick them together with a touch of more water. Wonton wraps similar to spring rolls tend to dry out quickly. Cover them with a damp cloth until used.
Overkill
- Knead eggs, salt and plain flour by adding water to the dough one tablespoon at the time. Mind not to add too much water as it will make a soft dough that is hard to work with. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes or meanwhile the fillings are prepared.
- Mix ground pork, finely cut or better shredded bok choy or cabbage, salt, grated garlic, ginger, soy sauce and chives in a bowl. Wonton wrappers are small so we’ll need small pieces to be able to wrap them up nicely.
- Roll the dough out. Do it in batches if necessary. Cut it into 3″ / 7.5cm squares. Rework the leftover until there is no more dough left. Keep the wraps under a damp cloth until used.
- Place a tablespoon (10g) of filling in the middle of a wrap.
- Wet the dough along the edges so it will stick. Close it up to a rectangle.
- Fold the corners back down to the middle. Stick them together with a touch of more water. Wonton wraps, similar to spring rolls tend to dry out quickly. Cover them with a damp cloth until used.
Soup
- Heat stock and add grated crushed garlic, sliced ginger, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, white part of green onion and optional cooking wine. This is also the time to add any additional vegetables if used.
- Bring it to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook the optional added vegetables to the desired texture if any. Take them out along with the ginger and garlic.
- Add in the Wontons. Optionally, use a separate pot with water as the starch from the wontons can turn the water a bit murky.
- Some dumplings like to stick to the bottom. Release them gently with a spatula.
- Once the wontons are ready, they will come up the surface crying for help.
- Take the wonton dumplings out and let them drip.
- Chop green onion for dressing the wonton soup up. Serve the soup with wonton dumplings and sprinkle some green onion slices on top.
Notes
F.A.Q.
What is the broth of Wonton Soup made of?
Wonton soup is generally prepared from Chinese chicken stock but any broth will do as the additional seasoning of ginger, sesame seed oil and garlic will greatly alter its flavor anyway.
Is Wonton Soup healthy?
If it’s made with healthy ingredients Wonton Soup can be healthy. The broth or stock, that is made of, can consist a variety of vitamins and nutrition so can the filling, depending on the ingredients.
What is wonton filling made of?
Wonton fillings are wide and far. It can consist entirely of vegetables or a mixture of various meat like chicken, pork or fish among others. The most common filling is pork though with Chinese cabbage known as bok choy.
What is the meat inside of wonton?
Wontons can be filled with any kind of meat, including chicken or seafood. The most popular filling is ground pork with vegetables like bok choy.
Are wontons boiled or fried?
Wontons can be both boiled or fried as a snack which will make it reminiscent to egg rolls but much smaller.
Pin now, Enjoy later!
