Wontons are a delicious staple in Southern China where a bowl of Wonton soup could be found in street food markets. I remember growing up with my grandma who always made wontons on weekend afternoons and asked the younger children in the household to help out. Making wontons was a communal activity in our family, as everyone leaned over the dining table dabbing their fingers in the powdery flour.
Wontons directly translates to “swallowing a cloud”, which is quite an accurate expression of the joy of biting into a freshly prepared bowl of wontons. While I no longer live with my grandma, I still occasionally sit down with my younger cousins teaching them the step by step method of preparing wontons.
The perfect wonton boasts a thin, doughy exterior filled with freshly ground pork with hints of ginger, Shaoxing wine, and scallions. When I first invited my significant other to prepare these with me, he believed that it would be a handful of work that he was not ready for. However, he soon discovered that it was simpler than some of my baking recipes, and, from start to finish, takes less than 15 minutes (depending on the amount of ingredients used). If you’re looking to learn a new recipe without having to order take out wontons that may be soggy and MSG-packed, then preparing this classic Chinese entree is worth a try.
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes
Ingredients: Wontons
- 40 wonton wrappers purchased from asian supermarkets (also available at Wal-Mart)
- 1-2 lbs Lean ground pork
- 1 tbsp chopped green onion
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 2 tbsp shaoxing wine (can replace with mirin or white wine)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp all purpose flour
- 1 glass of water
Ingredients: Wonton soup
- Seaweed flakes to taste
- 1 cup of Chicken broth
- 1 tsp chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 cup of cold water
Instructions:
- Mix lean ground pork with green onions, salt, soy sauce, ginger, wine and cornstarch in a large bowl. Can use manually or with an electric mixer.
- Marinade mixture for 30 minutes in the fridge if desired for better tasting results. However, non-marinated mixture is also adequate.
- Take wonton wrapper and place a teaspoon of filling into the centre of the square wrapping
- Fold the wonton wrapper in half (into a rectangle) as shown in the image
- Pinch the edges of the wonton wrapper as shown in the image to create a rose-like shape
- Set aside on a plate coated with thin layer of all purpose flour
- Repeat until either the wonton wrap or filling is used up
Cooking instructions:
- Boil 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup of water in a large saucepan
- Add seaweed flakes, soy sauce into the boiling broth
- Add wontons to saucepan and cover the lid to simmer for 4-6 minutes or until wontons rise to the surface of the water
- Serve immediately
