Economical Wonton Noodle Soup

Gather your guests in the kitchen and have them help you fold the wonton! Folding wonton requires patience and again a lot of patience. Soon you will notice the more you fold the better wontons will be produced.. Now, Wontons are made by spreading a square wrapper (a dough skin made of flour, egg, water and salt) flat in the palm of one’s hand, placing a small amount of filling in the center, and sealing the wonton into the desired shape. A triangular shaped Wonton is the most common shape around the world.

Adhesion may be improved by moistening the wrapper’s inner edges, typically by dipping a fingertip into water and running it across the dry dough to dissolve the extra flour. Wonton are commonly boiled and served in a soup or sometimes deep-fried.

I personally prefer the soup version of Wonton, simply because lots of outside food is deep-fried nowadays which means not as healthy.  I am lucky to be in Singapore if we speak about this dish; there are plenty of food stalls around every corner of the city. But having said that, home made food is still the healthiest choice, so don’t get too much used to outside food if happen that you live in south east asia.

I am sure you are used to watching the clock when boiling pasta, well this isn’t pasta but a chinese style wonton noodle soup! Boil your pot of soup, add dumplings. When it comes to a boil, add one cup of broth. When finally that comes to a boil, add another cup. When boiling again, it’s done!

Every region in China has a different way of making wonton noodle soup, but this is how I did it for four persons:

1/2 pound ground pork (Damage $ 5.00) for Vegetarians Portobello mushrooms (approx. $5.00)
2 stalks scallion, finely minced (Damage $ 1.00)
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 pound wonton wrappers, at room temperature, covered with a damp towel
1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1/4 cup cool water (cornstarch slurry)
2 quarts chicken broth
8 ounces dried wonton noodles (or thin egg noodles)
1/2 pound bok choy (Chinese Cabbage) leaves separated and washed well (Damage $ 2.50)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
chili garlic sauce (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the pork, scallion, soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch, sugar and sesame oil. Mix well. Put a scant teaspoon of filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper, brush cornstarch slurry on all edges. Fold over to form a triangle, press to secure edges, encasing the filling. Brush cornstarch slurry on one tip of the triangle. Bring two corners together and press to secure (though my kids often just leave them as triangles.) Place on clean, dry plate in one layer and cover loosely with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Repeat with remaining.

In a large stockpot, add all but 2 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. The 2 cups of reserved broth should be room temperature or just slightly chilled. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the wontons. Bring pot back to a gentle boil. When it reaches a boil, add 1 cup of the reserved broth. Bring back to a boil and again, add the remaining 1 cup of reserved broth.

Keep the heat on the pot on (you still need to cook the noodles and bok choy) while using a spider or sieve to scoop up the wontons and distribute amongst the bowls. Cook the noodles in the pot according to the package instructions. Add the bok choy (Chinese Cabbage) to the pot during last minute of cooking noodles and let simmer, until cooked through. Ladle broth, noodles and bok choy to bowls. Drizzle just a few drops of sesame oil in each bowl. Serve with chili garlic sauce if happen that you stay in south east asia.

Enjoy and don’t forget about this economic recipe!