Baking
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One of my first ever dinner parties I made a wonton soup. From the Women’s weekly Chinese cookbook. Having now made wontons for decades – being one of my ultimate favourite meals - this is the best recipe, and an upgrade on that original dinner party.
I became known for was this dis - I loved cooking it, and I loved how light and healthy it was. I especially loved how much everyone respects home-made dumplings; it has that wow factor when you serve them.
This dish is surprisingly so easy. You just need patience - to roll the little dumplings. To note you do get quicker with practice!
Based on a recipe by Adam Liaw from his Destination Flavour China show on SBS.
Serves 4 – 6. DF. Freezes well precooked especially.
Pictured: Shanghai-style wontons ready to cook
For 40 – 50 wrappers*
Filling
Ingredients
- 1 bunch baby bok choy, washed – substitute with a handful of cabbage
- 500g fatty pork mince
- 6 spring onions, finely minced, dark green ends sliced and reserved for serving
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine – substitute with dry sherry
- 1 tbsp potato starch/flour or cornflour
- 1 tsp salt
- Soup
- 400 – 500 ml per person of chicken stock
- a splash of light soy sauce
- a splash of Shaoxing wine/dry sherry
- To serve- a splash of sesame oil over each bowl and white pepper to taste
- To note - If really hungry, feel free to add some cooked noodles and vegetables to make a meal of it, however that will be less traditional of course.
- *Pictured- wonton wrappers
- Make the filling – Blanch the bok choy or cabbage for a few minutes in boiling water turned down to a simmer. Drain well and squeeze out as much excess water as you can once cool enough to handle and finely chop.
Method
Mix the bok choy/cabbage with all the other ingredients – apparently, it is important to stir in only one direction which for some reason does work really well! Set in the fridge for half an hour – you can make this in advance the day before etc too.
To make the wontons – I like to have a chopping board ready, and a little bowl of water. I lay out 4 – 6 wrappers, place 1 tsp filling in bottom half of each wrapper, leaving an edge- like a mini rectangle in one half of the wrapper. Rub some water around the edges of the wrapper, only one at a time however as you go. Fold over into a rectangle sealing well. Place a little bit of water on the corners without a sealed edge, i.e., the folded edges, and overlap and pinch the corners together. This creates a little tortellini shape. If you don’t have time for this, simply place a tsp of filling in a corner, and fold the wrapper into a triangle.
Repeat for all – laying them out on a tray with baking paper. You can freeze some, laying them flat on a tray or in a wide tub with baking paper, covered. Just do not let them touch or they may stick together.
Pictured: Rolling Shanghai-style wontons
When ready to serve – bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil for the wontons and bring the stock and soup ingredients to the boil then very low simmer, ready to ladle over the wontons as soon as they are ready.
To cook the wontons - I like to lower the water temperature to simmering, and slip the dumplings in batches of 10 or so, stirring gently with a wide spoon to make sure they do not stick to the bottom, and turning the heat up if need be, to keep it simmering. Cook 4 minutes gently. They will rise to the top when they are ready. Remove with a slotted spoon straight into the serving soup bowls.
To serve - ladle the warm soup over and serve with spring onion greens, sesame oil, and white pepper.
Dietary preferences
- Dairy-Free with ingredient checks
- Gluten-Free with substitutions
