Wonton Soup
Wonton soup is Cantonese comfort in a bowl — delicate pork-and-shrimp dumplings floating in a clear, gently savoury broth. The name wonton is often linked to the poetic idea of 'swallowing a cloud', a nod to the way the thin wrappers billow and soften in the hot soup. In Guangzhou and Hong Kong it is everyday food, sold from noodle shops and dim sum houses from morning to night. The secret is in two small details. Stirring the filling in one direction until sticky gives the classic springy bite, and boiling the wontons in separate water rather than in the broth keeps the soup crystal clear instead of cloudy. A good unsalted stock and a light hand with the seasoning let the delicate filling and the broth speak for themselves.
Pork & shrimp
Springy hand-folded dumplings
Crystal-clear broth
Wontons boiled apart from the soup
Light and delicate
Gentle, comforting flavours
Fold your own
A simple pleat, no special skill
Ingredients 4 servings
- 20 square wonton wrappers (about 100 g) — thawed if frozen, kept under a damp cloth so they do not dry out
- 200 g ground pork (~20% fat)
- 100 g raw shrimp, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 spring onions: 1 very finely minced for the filling, 2 sliced for the soup
- 2 cm fresh ginger, grated, plus 2 thin slices for the broth
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce, divided
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil, divided
- 0.5 tsp white pepper, divided
- 1 egg white, to bind the filling and seal the wrappers
- 1.2 l unsalted chicken stock
- 150 g baby bok choy, leaves separated
- 0.5 tsp salt, to taste
How to make it
- 1MAKE THE FILLING: in a bowl combine the pork, chopped shrimp, minced spring onion, grated ginger, 1 tbsp soy sauce, the Shaoxing, 1 tsp sesame oil, 0.25 tsp white pepper and the egg white; stir vigorously in one direction for 2 minutes until the mixture turns sticky and pastes together — this one-direction stir is what gives a bouncy filling.
- 2FILL THE WONTONS: place a teaspoon of filling in the centre of a wrapper, wet two edges with water, fold into a triangle and press out the air, then bring the two bottom corners together and pinch to seal; keep the finished wontons under a damp cloth.
- 3START THE BROTH: bring the chicken stock to a gentle simmer with the ginger slices and 1 tbsp soy sauce; simmer 10 minutes, lift out the ginger, then season with the salt and remaining white pepper.
- 4COOK THE GREENS: drop the bok choy into the broth and simmer 2 minutes until tender, then lift out and divide among four bowls.
- 5BOIL THE WONTONS: bring a separate large pot of water to a rolling boil, slide in the wontons in two batches, and cook 3-4 minutes until they float and the wrappers turn translucent — boiling them in water rather than the broth keeps the soup clear.
- 6ASSEMBLE: divide the wontons among the bowls, ladle the hot broth over, scatter the sliced spring onion and finish with the last 1 tsp sesame oil; serve immediately.
Nutritional info
per serving (~400 ml)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
