Guest Post! Wonton Soup

I may love to bake, but the real chef in the family is my sister. I'm firmly convinced that she can cook anything and make it taste absolutely fabulous. So when she volunteered to guest post for Birds & Brownies, I was delighted! I would highly recommend that you try her very delicious version of wonton soup.

-  The Bird Girl

 

Hello to all Birds and Brownies readers! Let me introduce myself. I'm the bird girl's sister, I'm in my 20's, and I study chemistry. Being a chef, I love the way that chemistry and cooking intertwine!

However, I should warn you, this post will be a little different that what you normally see on this blog. I am a chef, and not a baker, so I HATE TO MEASURE! I prefer to cook by the seat of my pants, so to speak, throwing together whatever looks good. Surprisingly, the things I make usually turn out quite delicious! I will do my best to turn this wonton soup experiment into a recipe you can recreate (just remember, a pinch is a correct unit of measure!).

I'm not a huge Chinese takeout fan, but I do occasionally enjoy that wonton soup every Chinese restaurant seems to have - chicken broth base, pork or beef wontons, and a few scattered scallions. Why couldn't I make the same soup, only better? 

So here you will find my very own wonton soup recipe. Feel free to substitute or change the recipe as you wish; there's never a penalty for culinary exploration!

I made the broth first, and let all the ingredients simmer together while I prepped the wontons.

I added slices of ginger, scallions, and garlic to a pot with chicken broth and water, put in a few generous dashes of soy sauce, a little red wine vinegar, a little balsamic vinegar, pinches of salt, pepper, and sugar, and sauteed shiitake mushrooms.

That's it! All of the ingredients simmered together for at least half an hour, and I added more sugar to taste to balance out the tangyness of the vinegars. Delicious! And much more interesting that the takeout version.

To make the wonton filling, I made a vinaigrette using soy sauce, Dijon mustard, finely chopped sauteed shiitakes, microplaned ginger, and garlic. Then I added salt and pepper, and a pound of ground pork. I would recommend also trying a mixture of ground beef and ground pork, and maybe throwing in some breadcrumbs and an egg to lighten the mixture a little.

Then I wrapped up about a tablespoon of filling in each store-bought wonton wrapper, as you can see above.

Rather than cook all of the wontons at once, I just boiled as many as were needed for one meal in the broth, for about six minutes. I ended up putting the broth and wontons in the refrigerator separately, and boiled more the next day for lunch - but I did have to add a bit more water to the broth to keep the same consistency as the day before. 

I finished by scooping a few wontons into each bowl, covering with broth, and sprinkling more fresh scallions on top! 

The soup is rich and complex, a very Umami dish due to the shiitakes and soy in both the broth and wontons. Please please please try this the next time you're tempted to reach for that takeout menu!

Best of all, it didn't take too long - the most time intensive step is wrapping the wontons, and with a couple hands to help out, you'll have this soup done in no time. Try it out, and let me know how you liked it!

Wonton Soup

For the broth:
Two cartons low sodium chicken broth
4oz. (1/2 package) fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 in. fresh gingerroot, sliced into thin rounds
3-4 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Dash red wine vinegar
Dash balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Wontons:
One package small square wonton wrappers
One lb. ground pork
4oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic
3/4 in. piece of fresh gingerroot
Salt and pepper


Sautee half of the package of shiitakes with two cloves of garlic, minced. Add to a large saucepan with the chicken broth, vinegars, soy sauce, ginger, the white parts of the scallions, and a cup of water. Bring to a simmer, and leave on the stove while you prepare the wontons.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 Tbsp soy and the Dijon, and microplane (or very finely chop) the garlic and ginger. Saute the other half of the shiitakes, roughly chop, and add to the vinegrette along with the pork. Mix thoroughly.

Place about a tablespoon of the meat mixture into the center of each wonton. Wet the edges of the wonton with water, and fold two opposite sides together, to form a triangle. Make sure all of the edges are well sealed. Take the two furthest edges of the triangle and press together underneath the wonton.

Bring the broth to a boil, and drop up to 12 wontons at a time into the broth. Boil for at least 6 minutes.  Remove, place in bowls, and cover with broth. Sprinkle the chopped green parts of the scallions on top of each bowl, and serve immediately.

Broth and wontons can be stored separately in the refrigerator for up to three days.