Family Secrets: Wonton Soup

I'm very excited to share this recipe of homemade Wonton Soup because it comes from my father, who has managed to become quite the chef. I don't remember him cooking very much in my childhood, it was always my grandmother who would fill our bellies with amazing Vietnamese cuisine. Something I took for granted at the time and only realize in adulthood how much I could have learned from her. Luckily, my father must have paid more attention than me because on our recent visit to Connecticut he cooked some extraordinary meals and I made sure I paid attention. 

This recipe for Wonton Soup beats anything you will EVER find in a restaurant. The broth is clear and flavorful and the delicate wontons melt in your mouth. My dad says if you're in a hurry you can use wonton soup base for your broth but know that cooking your own will taste way better. This recipe makes enough to feed an army! But the broth can be used for other dishes or frozen for up to 3 months and the wontons can also be wrapped tightly and frozen for 1 month.

Homemade Wonton Soup

Broth
Water
1 pound pork bones
1 pound chicken wings
1 whole, unpeeled garlic bulb
1 whole, unpeeled onion
coarse sea salt

Fill a large stock pot 3/4 full of cold water. Add pork bones to cold water and bring to a slow boil and simmer for 1 hour. Skim the fat off regularly. Add the rinsed chicken wings and bring back to a slow boil. Add the whole garlic, onion, salt, and continue to simmer for 1-2 hours longer making sure you continue to skim off any fat or blood.

Strain the broth, reserving the pork bones to add to the soup and the chicken wings can be saved for another purpose. Discard the onion and garlic. Keep the broth warm until you're ready to serve the wontons.

Wonton Filling
1 pound crushed shrimp
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon sesame oil
salt & pepper

Crush the shrimp using an empty bottle or rolling pin. Leave nice chunks so you can identify the shrimp in the final product. (Never use a blender as they sometimes do in restaurants and in pre-packaged wontons, you want to be able to identify the pork and shrimp by texture when you eat the wonton).

In a large bowl mix the crushed shrimp, pork, sesame oil and salt and pepper together using your hands.

Wonton Crowns
Makes about 42-45 wontons
1. Lay 6 wontons out at a time keeping the remaining wontons covered in plastic wrap so they don't dry out.  Have a small bowl of water next to you to wet your fingers, this will be the glue you use to close the wonton wrappers.

2. Put about 1 tablespoon of filling on each wrapper (don't overfill or they will burst open when you cook them).

3. Wet your index finger and moisten two corners of the wonton wrapper.
4. Fold the wonton over making a triangle and seal the edges.

 


5. Gently fold the wonton edges over each other to form a "crown". This is food fit for a king :)

6. Set aside and cover as you make them so they don't dry out.
7. Cook wontons in batches in a separate pot of salted boiling water. They are done when they float and look clear.

Soup Toppings
12 sliced/quartered baby bella mushrooms, cooked in broth
7 green onions, whites removed, greens sliced (reserve white stems)
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 package bean sprouts, rinsed (optional, pour hot water over spouts to take away smell and soften them)
1 bunch Kai-lan (a.k.a. Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale)

Cook the mushrooms in the strained broth until a clear layer appears, remove. Add white stems of the green onion and cook until softened.

Prepare your bowl
Add wontons to your bowl. Add toppings: cooked mushrooms, green onions, cilantro, bean sprouts, and Kai-lan. Ladle broth over the wontons and toppings. Serve with a side of hoisin sauce and Sriracha. You should also add the pork bone to your bowl, this still has meat on it and is loaded with flavor.

Dad's Essential Tips:
1. Never buy cooked shrimp. Ever. Not even for shrimp cocktail. Cooked shrimp is full of water and has no flavor. Buy raw shrimp with the head and tails on and cook it yourself for maximum flavor.
2. Coarse sea salt is preferable, Morton's iodized salt is too bitter for such a delicate dish.
3. Do not cook your wontons in the homemade broth, it becomes too fat and soggy and the flour from the wontons changes the flavor of your broth. Rather, cook the wontons in a separate pot of boiling water and spoon the homemade broth over the cooked wontons right into your bowl (this also goes for homemade chicken noodle soup).
4. Put vegetable oil in your boiling water to help the wontons stay separate.
5. Use a full tablespoon of salt in your pot of water to cook the noodles.
6. Never ever add your hoisin sauce and Sriracha directly into your bowl of noodles. You just worked really hard making a homemade broth and you'll lose all of its delicate flavors by putting it directly in your soup. Rather, have a small bowl of the sauces next to you and use your chopsticks to season the wonton directly.


Once you try this soup you will never crave restaurant wonton soup again. The broth alone is enough to make you weep. The texture of the pork and shrimp in the wonton really stands out and this dish manages to be both light and filling at the same time. It freezes nicely so you'll do half the work next time you have a craving for homemade soup. I hope you try this and enjoy, let me know what you think!