Wonton Soup

lauren-burns-wonton-big

Because good vegetarian wontons are hard to find, I think it’s easier to make your own. These silky wontons are soft pillows floating in a rich broth.  Delicious.

Wontons freeze well so if you have the time to sit and make a truck load, I make mine layered with baking paper in between, you will be richly rewarded when you pull them out and drop them into your soup. Perfect to share.

Wonton Soup

Serves 2 (or 4 as an entree)

16 wonton wrappers (7cm square)
250g fresh tofu
1 teaspoon Ponzu (see here)
1 teaspoon shoyu
1⁄2 teaspoon kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander leaves
3–4 water chestnuts, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 spring onion, finely sliced

Soup

1 litre water
1 x 10g packet vegetarian dashi stock
1⁄2 not-chicken stock cube or vegetable stock cube, crumbled
2 tablespoons shoyu or tamari
1 tablespoon mirin
11⁄2 teaspoons XO sauce
1 teaspoon kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

To make the soup, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boiling point. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Keep warm while you make the wontons.

Fill a small saucer with water and lay out the wonton wrappers on your work surface. Put the tofu in a large bowl and mash using a fork, then add the remaining ingredients, except the spring onion, and mix well.

Place just under 1 teaspoonful of filling in the middle of each wonton wrapper, then dip your index finger in the saucer of water and run it around the edge of the wrapper. Bring all 4 corners together and pinch tightly along each edge, making sure there are no air bubbles.

Put the soup over a low heat and drop in half the wontons. Simmer for 5–6 minutes or until the wontons are soft. Lift out using a slotted spoon and keep warm while you cook the remaining wontons. Put 6–7 wontons in each serving bowl, then ladle over broth to cover. Garnish with the spring onion to serve.

Variations

  • For a more ‘meaty’ flavour, add 1 tablespoon finely chopped Swiss brown, button or shitake mushrooms to the tofu mixture.
  • For children if they are being a bit fussy I often just simplify it and use tofu and sweet soy for the filling.

NOTE: I’ve made a video of a ‘Sauced Wontons’ here , the recipe is different but the folding is the same. If you’d like to see the wonton folding in action, check out the video.

lauren-burns-assembling-wonton-soup-1

lauren-burns-assembling-wonton-soup-2

lauren-burns-assembling-wonton-soup-3

lauren-burns-assembling-wonton-soup-4

lauren-burns-assembling-wonton-soup-5

lauren-burns-assembling-wonton-soup-6

lauren-burns-assembling-wonton-soup-7

lauren-burns-assembling-wonton-soup-8

Leave a Reply