🇨🇳 China and 🇭🇰 Hong Kong · Cantonese, Shanghainese and other regional forms

Wonton soup

Small filled dumplings, usually of pork or pork and shrimp in a thin wrapper, served in a light seasoned stock with sesame oil, white pepper and a green.

Origin and history

Wontons in broth are made across China in regional forms: Cantonese shrimp-and-pork wontons, Jiangnan and Beijing wonton shops, northern wontons that are smaller and more broth-forward, and Sichuan chaoshou in chili sauce. ChineseFoodWiki says the date of the dish's invention is uncertain and advises treating invention dates with caution, so none is given. The English word comes from the Cantonese pronunciation, and Hong Kong noodle shops made shrimp wontons famous abroad.

Make it at home

Makes: 6 servings (about 36 wontons)
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Hands-on: 1 h

Ingredients

Metric US

225 g8 oz ground pork, not too lean
225 g8 oz raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, or dry sherry
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil, plus a little for the bowls
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper, plus more for the broth
36 thin square wonton wrappers, about 8 cm (3 in); keep covered
1.5 L6 cups good chicken stock
2 slices ginger, for the broth
4 stalks baby bok choy, halved, or a handful of spinach
chopped scallion or cilantro, chili oil, to serve, optional

Method

1. Mix the pork, shrimp, minced ginger, sliced scallions, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, salt and white pepper in one direction until the filling is sticky and cohesive; poach a small spoonful and taste to adjust the seasoning.
2. Set a small bowl of water beside the wrappers and keep the stack under a damp towel so they do not dry out.
3. Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in the centre of a wrapper, dampen the edges, fold into a triangle, press out the air and seal.
4. Dab a little water on the two bottom corners, bring them together and pinch; set the finished wontons on a tray without touching.
5. Simmer the stock with the ginger slices for 10 minutes, season with a little salt, white pepper and a few drops of sesame oil, and keep it hot.
6. Boil a separate large pot of water. Blanch the bok choy for 1 minute and lift it out.
7. Cook the wontons in the same water in batches; when they float, give them 1 to 2 minutes more until the filling is cooked through.
8. Lift the wontons straight into warm bowls with a slotted spoon, add the bok choy, ladle over the hot broth and top with scallion, cilantro or chili oil.

Notes

Cook the wontons in water, not in the soup, so the broth stays clear and is not clouded by starch. A clear, well-seasoned broth is the mark of a good bowl.
Styles differ: Cantonese and Hong Kong wontons lean on a plump shrimp bite; northern wontons are generally smaller and more broth-forward; and a simpler home form uses pork with chopped blanched greens in chicken stock. Sichuan chaoshou are usually eaten in chili oil rather than clear broth.
Wonton noodle soup (thin egg noodles in the same bowl, a Cantonese and Hong Kong favourite) is a separate dish and not covered here.
Make ahead: freeze uncooked wontons on a tray, then bag them; cook from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes. Shaoxing wine can be replaced by dry sherry.

Adapted from Omnivore's Cookbook, Wonton Soup, The Woks of Life, Wonton Soup, and ChineseFoodWiki, Wonton Soup.