Wonton Soup Two ways : Spicy and Soothing

What’s better than a hot bowl of hearty wonton soup when it’s cold and wet outside? —— Two bowls of wonton soups! One spicy and one soothing.

If you are searching for a quick handmade wonton recipe that can be done in 30min, you are in luck! My comforting wonton soup, two ways is THE thing that’ll warm you up from the inside out.

What are Wontons?

Wontons are a type of Chinese dumplings that are usually boiled and filled with varying meats and seafoods. Even its name differs greatly around the country. In Canton, they're Wontons or 雲吞; in Sichuan they’re Chāoshǒu 抄手 or 包面 Bāo miàn; in Shanghai, they’re 馄饨…and so on.

But regardless of name, in every region, wontons are distinctively different than Jiaozi 餃子 (the crescent shaped dumpling) that most are familiar with. In that the filling is normally less and the wrapper is thinner…perfect to be slurped up in wonton soups.

The filling

Growing up in a landlocked province in China, our wontons or Chāoshǒu 抄手 are filled with pork, not seafood. As well, Sichuan wontons are super delicate pure pork filling that melts in your mouth! This is achieved by whipping the minced meat with an aromatic liquid. Incorporating liquid into the meat adds juiciness and lightens up the protein.

I’ve previously shared a chilli oil wonton 红油抄手 recipe with this pure meat filling. But in this wonton soup recipe, I added a crunch element in the form of fresh lotus root. If you don’t have such a special ingredient, water chestnuts are also great.

Wonton Wrappers

Unlike Jiaozi dumplings, wonton wrappers are much better store bought. They are square in shape and is thinner than the round dumpling wrappers. Both dumpling and wonton wrappers are made with flour, salt and water, Wonton wrappers sometimes include duck eggs or alkaline water so it's more supple and elastic. Which is why some have a yellow hue.

You can easily find these in the refrigerate or freezer section on the Asian grocer. But since Chinese dumplings have gone so main stream, you can even find them at large retailers like Walmart.

The Soup bases

So what about the soup? After all this is wonton soup.

To be honest, the soup of this soup recipe is not as important. You can of course make homemade chicken or bone broth by boiling bones for a long time OR just warm up a good tasting chicken stock and call it a day.

To enhance any store brought broth: season with salt, white pepper and sesame oil to taste and then toss in some herbs like green onions and serve! These homemade wontons are so good that the soup is simply the delivery vehicle.

As for the spicy version, no need for stock at all. With all the strong flavours, just use the wonton cooking water and the soup is made. And the results are completely addictive and satisfying.

Pro tips:

- Because these wonton fillings have liquid worked in, don't make them to sit around in advance. Cook them as you make each portion so the liquid won't make the wrappers too soggy.

- Do not over cook. Once the wontons float up to the water surface, another 2-3min will be sufficient.

- Don't be tempted to boil the wontons directly in the broth, this will ruin the texture of the wrappers and murky up the soup base.