Homemade wonton soup
- Preparation 45 min
- Cooking 15 min
- Servings 6
- Freezing Absolutely
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🥟 A wonton soup that beats the restaurant one
It’s a classic, and it’s so good. The best part: it’s easy to make at home. A clear broth, plump wontons with a water chestnut crunch in the center, carrots and bok choy that stay firm. This recipe comes from my Tome 2, so putting it online was a no-brainer.
🥢 The filling, mixed like a ninja
Lean ground pork, finely chopped shrimp, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, water chestnuts, and an egg white so everything holds together. You mix it like a ninja, with your hands or a sturdy spoon, until it’s firm and sticky.
If you find Shaoxing rice wine at the Asian grocery store, it can replace the rice vinegar. If not, the vinegar does the job.
🍲 The wontons cook on their own
I cook them in a pot of water at a low boil, not in the soup. The starch from the wrappers stays in the cooking water and the broth stays clear. For the broth, my homemade chicken stock is the best, but regular chicken broth works too.
You can make a ton of broth, freeze it, and just add wontons to it whenever you feel like it.
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🥟 Cook the wontons on their own
In the broth, they turn it cloudy. In a separate pot of water, the broth stays clear. Put the cooked wontons in the bowl, then ladle hot broth over them.
🌡️ Low boil, never more
The first time I made these, I cooked them at too hard a boil and the wontons opened up, filling all over the water. What a mess. Now I keep the water at a low boil, just a few bubbles rising. They’re ready when they float, which takes 3 to 4 minutes.
🧺 The pouch fold, because it’s easy
Lift the four corners, pinch, done. You don’t need to be good at folding. To seal, a little water on the edges is plenty. The egg white stays in the filling.
🌰 Water chestnuts
They come canned, at the Asian grocery store or in the Asian aisle of your regular supermarket. They’re what gives the wonton its crunchy center. If you really can’t find them, very finely chopped celery can fill in.
❄️ Freeze them raw
Spread the wontons in a single layer on a parchment-lined tray. Once they’re hard, move them to a freezer bag. Cook them straight from the freezer in the low-boiling water, giving them a little more time. The broth freezes too, in containers, and a weeknight dinner is basically done.
✅ What to serve with my homemade wonton soup
A bowl is already a meal. To make it festive, dip your wontons in my best homemade dumpling sauce, or kick off a feast with my red curry dumpling bake with coconut milk. And if you want a full Asian night, my shrimp and pork Asian soup follows nicely.
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Wonton filling
- ½ lb (250 g) lean ground pork
- 7 oz (200 g) raw 21-30 shrimp, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water chestnuts, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) soy sauce
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar (or Shaoxing rice wine if available)
- 2 tsp (10 ml) toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp (5 ml) freshly grated ginger
- 1 egg white
- 1 package square wonton wrappers (about 50 wrappers)
Broth
- 12 cups (3 liters) chicken broth, homemade if you can
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) soy sauce
- 2 tsp (10 ml) toasted sesame oil
- 3 Nantes carrots, cut into julienne
- Leaves of 5 baby bok choys
To serve
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Green onions, thinly sliced
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Preparation
- Prepare the filling: in a large bowl, put all the filling ingredients (except the wonton wrappers). Salt and pepper generously. Mix like a ninja with your hands or a sturdy spoon until you get a smooth, firm and sticky texture. This is what makes wontons that hold together during cooking.
- Fold the wontons into pouches: place about 1 tsp (5 ml) of filling in the center of a square wonton wrapper. With your finger, lightly moisten the 4 edges of the square with a bit of water. Lift the 4 corners of the wrapper up, above the filling, and pinch firmly together to form a little pouch. Seal the sides well all around so there’s no air inside. Repeat until the filling is used up. Refrigerate, uncovered, while you prepare the broth.
- Prepare the broth: in a large pot over medium-high heat, put the chicken broth, green onion, soy sauce and sesame oil. Salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to keep the broth hot without boiling.
- Cook the wontons separately: in another large pot, bring water to a low boil (NOT a rolling boil, otherwise the wontons burst). Add about half the wontons and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until they float to the surface and the filling is cooked. Remove gently with a slotted spoon and set aside. Cook the remaining wontons.
- During the last minutes of wonton cooking, add the julienned carrots to the hot broth to soften them 2-3 minutes. Add the baby bok choy leaves last so they stay crisp.
- Divide the cooked wontons among 6 large serving bowls. Ladle hot broth with vegetables over them. Garnish with finely sliced green onion and chopped fresh cilantro. Serve immediately.
Yes, all pork works. You can also use ground chicken instead of the pork.
Rapini or spinach will do the job. I still suggest bok choy, though.
Yes, with this broth they do the job just fine. Cook them separately, like the homemade ones, before adding them to the bowls.
Add chili oil or sambal to your bowl if you feel like it.
Yes. For the wontons, put them in the fridge uncovered. Left open, they dry out a little and hold together better. In a closed container, they risk getting soft.
Leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge, with the broth and the wontons stored separately.
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