- 1
Begin by cleaning the assortment of common wonton vegetables - bok choy, mushrooms, and carrots, to mention but a few.
- 2
These will add a lot of flavour and nutrition to your wontons. Place a large pot of water on the heat to boil.
- 3
Blanch the vegetables for only about 60 to 90 seconds until they just wilted but are still very coloured.
- 4
This blanching will retain the nutrients in the vegetables while colouring them and making them easier to chop.
- 5
Blanch the vegetables, and then drain them and chill them in cold water to stop cooking.
- 6
This is also where they absorb much crispiness. Now gather up a healthy clump of your blanched vegetables and squeeze as much water from them as possible.
- 7
There is nothing worse than soggy wontons, and excess moisture is not ideal.
- 8
Chop the vegetables finely using the knife, or pulse them through the mini-food processor with a few pulses until finely minced for a faster version.
- 9
Do this for all the vegetables; once they are chopped and ready, mix them well.
- 10
Place the finely chopped vegetables in a bowl and mix with the ground pork.
- 11
The pork would add richness and flavour and also balance out the vegetables.
- 12
Mix in 2 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil, a pinch of white pepper, one tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine in this mixture.
- 13
Shaoxing wine is an aged Chinese rice wine used in many Chinese dishes for additional flavour and depth.
- 14
Use your hands and mix all the ingredients until the mixture emulsifies and almost forms a paste.
- 15
This will make the flavour more balanced throughout the filling of each wonton, thus making the taste more cohesive.
- 16
This filling should be rich and aromatic, with promises of yummy wontons. Assemble the wontons.
- 17
Have some water in a small bowl to seal the wonton wrappers.
- 18
Take a wrapper, moisten the edges of it with your finger so that it seals well, put little more than a teaspoon of your filling in the middle of it, fold it in half, pressing the sides together really well, sealing it up.
- 19
You have the bottom two corners of the rectangle you just created, side to the filling, and that will leave you with the traditional wonton shape.
- 20
The water can help stick them together if it is needed. Not only is this folding pleasing in its appearance, it also ensures that the filling is perfectly sealed inside.
- 21
Now is a good time to steam or boil a few wontons to taste the filling and season accordingly.
- 22
You will probably find that you want to add a little more Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, or white pepper to taste.
- 23
When you are satisfied with the filling, continue assembling the wontons until all of the filling has been used up.
- 24
Place each of the finished wontons on a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper so they do not touch each other, so they will not stick together.
- 25
Cover the wontons with plastic wrap and place the baking sheet in the freezer to freeze for later use. When completely frozen, put them in your bags for freezing.
- 26
They can be kept for months. Use them when you have a bowl of wonton soup.
- 27
Prepare the soup by heating chicken stock in a pot until just simmering. Season with 2-3 teaspoons of sesame oil white pepper, and salt to taste.
- 28
This aromatic broth is perfect to scoop wontons into.
- 29
Water comes to a boil in another pot. Carefully add the wontons one at a time to the soup by swirling motion to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- 30
This is the most important technique for perfectly cooked wontons.
- 31
Once they begin floating, let them boil for another minute or two, but avoid overcooking as it will make for mushy wontons. Serve the cooked wontons in serving bowls using a slotted spoon.
- 32
Finally, ladle over the hot chicken broth and let their savoury flavours meld into one another.
- 33
Garnish with finely chopped scallions for an added pop of flavour.
- 34
Serve your homemade wonton soup hot, and enjoy the satisfaction of having created this comforting dish from scratch.