Wonton Soup

A couple of years ago while traveling the east coast, one of our cousins was nice enough to ask my son if he wanted to travel to New York City with him to tour Yankee Stadium. It was a no brainer for my kid, who at the time was only seven years old. I don’t know if this was for our cousin to persuade my kid to become a lifelong Yankee’s fan, as we lost our oldest already to becoming a Philadelphia Phillies fan at an early age, but I did not want to think about the outcome. I just wanted him to have fun in the big city and spend time with our cousin, or uncle as he would say.

Later that night, he returned a very happy kid. He had his Yankees shirt on, along with some fancy sunglasses, and as he began talking about how cool the stadium was. He was probably just as excited to talk about the Chinese restaurant they had lunch at, and even said he had wonton soup, and that it was the best soup ever!

Now our cousin knows good food, and he knows good Chinese food. A connoisseur of dim sum, and have been a big city native, I knew my kid probably had some of the best Chinese food in New York City.

For the last couple of years, my son reminds me of that time. Not so much of the Yankees, as I think I lured him back into being a Milwaukee Brewers fan, but of the time where he had the wontons, and that was my cue to make him my version, of what I think is a great wonton soup.

We have all had wonton soup, and we pretty much all love it. A nice broth with tender, savory dumplings floating in the broth. I personally really enjoy the soup, and it is one of those items on a Chinese menu that is always ordered. I’ve investigated various broths and dumplings and was determined to make my own this past weekend, and well, my son, he ate the majority of the soup.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: (Serves 6) [Print this Recipe]

• 1 lb of ground pork, 2 tbsp reserved for stock
• 1/4 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup of green onions, finely sliced
• 1/2 tsp corn starch
• 12-18 wonton wrappers, approximately
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp water
• Steamer
• 7 cups of homemade chicken stock, approximately

Begin by adding the pork, sesame oil, fish sauce, white pepper, salt, half of the green onions, and corn starch to a mixing bowl, and do just that, mix. Make sure all of the ingredients have incorporated.

To a smaller bowl, beat the egg, and add the water, and mix.

To make your wonton, lay a wrapper out onto a plate, or in your hand. Add about a tablespoon or less of the mixture into the middle of the wrapper. Lightly brush some of the egg wash along the perimeter of the wrapper. Fold one corner of the wrapper to the opposite side, and pinch to secure. Take the other corner, and do the same, then give it a slight twist.

Repeat this process until the pork mixture is done.

Next get a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the dumplings to a parchment paper lined steamer. Place the steamer to the top of the boiling water, cover, and let these steam for about 10 minutes.

During this time, get the chicken stock into a large pot and bring it to a boil, and toss in the ground pork.   Cook the broth for about 5 minutes, or until the ground pork is fully cooked, then remove the pork with a slotted spoon and discard. Toss in the remaining sliced green onions. When the wontons are cooked, add them to the chicken stock, turn off the heat, and let them sit in the broth for about 5 minutes before serving.

To serve, ladle some of the broth, and a few of the dumplings in each bowl.

I think I scored as both my wife, and dumpling loving son genuinely told me that it was probably better than the Chinese restaurant in New York. My son said my broth was better than the place in New York, and the dumpling was a tie. I think I came out a winner on this one. I hope you enjoy.