Today I'm going to show you how to make classic wonton soup
so put down that take out menu it's a lot easier than you think
it's a restaurant-quality dish made at home
Ground pork is used as the base for the filling,
it's extremely flavorful and it's going to yield tender and juicy bites
I also like to add fresh ingredients,
pungent and savory ones to really enhance the flavor of the meat
I have 1 pound of ground pork here and I'm going to add 1/3 cup of sliced green onions,
2 teaspoons of freshly-minced ginger,
2 teaspoons of sugar, it's gonna really balance those savory notes
2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
I like to mix the mixture with my hands so that I could feel it all combined
Ground pork is a really popular choice to use in Chinese cuisine,
we use it in potstickers and other dumplings like shumai, it's really good
Wonton wrappers are made from a wheat dough that's been rolled out super thin and cut into squares
This is about 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches and you can find them
in the refrigerated section at any major grocery store or Asian markets
I'm going to add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the ground pork mixture
you don't want to add too much or the wontons are
going to burst when they hit that hot boiling water
and then I like to add a piece of shrimp,
this is the smallest shrimp size you can find about 91 to 110 count
and it's just going to add a nice savory seafood note
If you can't find small pieces of shrimp you
can just cut larger pieces down into about 1/2 to 3/4 inch size
and the shrimp can be either raw or fully cooked
I have a cup of water and I'm going to brush
the edges of the wonton wrapper this is going to help the wontons seal together
and if you notice there is a side of the wonton wrapper
that is dusted with cornstarch and the other side that's not
I like to put the filling on the cornstarch side so that it sticks together better
Line the edges up as closely as possible and then push out
any air making sure you have a nice tight seal like this
so you have a triangle shape and then just brush
one side of the corner and then press them together like you're making a little boat
and then I just do a little quality check to make sure that
there's no open edges so that water doesn't get inside
As you get more comfortable with the folding technique
you could definitely speed up the process
I line up a bunch of wrappers about 8 in a row and then I add the filling
place the shrimp in the center of each dumpling then brush with water
but I'll do a quick brush across each edge quickly
Fold them up so that they don't dry out
When working in a large batch like this, make sure that you keep
the stack of wrappers covered with plastic or kitchen towel
If the wrappers dry out they won't be pliable and they'll get
hard and crackly so you won't be able to fold them as easily
Before we turn them into the boat,
I like to have the triangles pointed towards me so I just flip them around
and then gather the edges together
If you don't want to add shrimp into the filling
you can definitely omit it and just use 2 teaspoons of the pork mixture instead
If you see a little gap in the edges just add a little bit more water and press it together
You want to make sure that they're sealed so they
don't get filled with water during the boiling process
As you can see, this recipe makes a large batch of dumplings
I'm going to add about half into the soup and I'm going to actually freeze the rest
I place them in a single layer in a large resealable plastic bag,
just pop them into the freezer
and then you can take them out and use them any time the craving hits
To make a really fragrant and aromatic broth for the soup
I'm going to add freshly minced garlic and ginger
Cut off the ends of the garlic and then give it a quick smash
Peel off the skin
I use 1 teaspoon for the recipe
Ginger comes in a root like this and I'll just break off one section
To peel it, just cut off the skin and any of the rough knobs on the outside
Ginger has this wonderful warm almost spicy
pungent flavor and it just adds a nice kick to the broth
Now you're just going to cut it into small thin pieces
and do a nice quick fanning and chopping motion until you have 1 teaspoon of minced ginger
For a hardier soup, I like to add some fresh vegetables
I'm going to slice 4 ounces of brown mushrooms,
trimming off the root end and cutting them into 1/4 inch thick slices
This is going to add a nice umami flavor to complement the flavor of the pork dumplings
For a pop of color and a little bit of sweetness, I like to add carrots
This one is peeled and I'm going to cut it on a bias into very thin slices about 1/8 inch thick
The soup cooks very quickly so we don't want it to be
too large in size, we want to make sure that the carrots get nice and tender
We need 3/4 cups of sliced carrots
I'm also going to add some fresh bok choy,
this has already been washed and rinsed and I just pull the leaves apart
You should have about 6 to 8 leaves
and then just trim the little tiny bok choy that's hiding inside
and these wilt down very quickly so you really don't need to cut them
down anymore unless you want smaller pieces
In a large pot, add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat
In a separate large pot, heat 2 teaspoons of sesame oil over medium heat
add 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon minced ginger
continuously stir until fragrant, about 1 minute
Stir in 8 cups of chicken broth, 4 ounces of sliced mushrooms, and 3/4 cups sliced carrots
bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 5 minutes until the mushrooms have softened
I like to use chicken broth for the soup because it's made
with meat instead of bones and it gives a really nice poultry flavor
it's also more translucent instead of opaque compared to chicken stock
so you could really see the beautiful ingredients inside each bowl
For this recipe, we're going to cook the wontons in their own separate pot of hot boiling water
This is going to give much more control over
the cooking process so that they don't become overcooked
Reduce the heat to medium and add 5 ounces of bok choy, and 1 pound of shrimp
Cook for about three to four minutes until the shrimp have turned pink and opaque
Turn off the heat, season the broth with more salt to taste
Add half of the wontons to the pot of boiling water stirring occasionally to prevent sticking
I've cooked the dumplings for about three to four minutes until they're no longer pink in the center
a quick way to check is you could take one out,
slice it open and take a peek inside and if it needs about one more minute
continue cooking these until ready
I'm going to transfer them into the broth
look at those gorgeous
Oh this smells so good
It's the perfect hot comfort food
To finish the dish, I like to add some freshly sliced green onions,
and then I'll portion it into its own individual serving bowls
I hope you enjoyed learning the science behind wonton soup
and if you did please give it a big thumbs up it means a lot when you do
If you're looking for more delicious Chinese recipes, check out my orange chicken right here
See you in the next video
Can't wait to dig in