When Chicago is colder than Antarctica, and fortunately that doesn’t happen often, all I feel like doing is hunkering down and cooking. Our kitchen has been filled with comforting and warming recipes to boost our spirits these past couple weeks. For example, I made a pork roulade, my husband brined and hot smoked fish in which we made a seafood chowder and a smoked salmon cream cheese spread for bagels, and because Chinese New Year is coming up and I love Chinese food, I was inspired to make shrimp wonton soup.
I have enjoyed wonton soup numerous times throughout my life, but when I started working at The Chopping Block over 20 years ago, it was then that I learned how to make it from scratch and it’s much easier than I imagined! We used to run a series of classes called Building Blocks; there were 24 total in the series and each one focused on different cooking techniques. The idea was that after taking all 24, you would be a proficient cook.
The Chinese menu in this series consisted of Wonton Soup, Kung Pao Chicken, Chinese Vegetables with Crispy Noodle Pancake and Szechwan Grilled Eggplant. Although we don’t run these classes anymore, the recipes live on in other classes such as the grilled eggplant which is made on day four of Culinary Boot Camp. It turns eggplant haters into eggplant lovers!
There are two parts to the shrimp wonton soup recipe: the wontons and the soup.
Let’s Start with the Wontons
To make the wontons, make sure your wonton wrappers are defrosted. You can typically find them in the freezer section of your grocery store, so defrost them overnight in your fridge or let them sit on your counter for about an hour or until defrosted.
Place all of the filling ingredients in your food processor and puree until mostly smooth. If you don’t have a food processor, that’s okay! You can finely chop the shrimp with your knife and mix in the remaining ingredients.
Lay ten wrappers at a time on your work surface. I start with about ten because the wrappers dry out quickly making it difficult to seal the edges, so the more hands the better. I recruited my son and husband to help with this step. Using a small spoon or small portion scoop, place about one teaspoon of the filling in the center of each wrapper.
Brush water along the edges of the wrappers, and fold each one in half to make a triangle. Pinch to seal the edges.
Then dab one corner of the folded edge with water, bring the opposite corners together and press firmly to make the dumpling shape. Place the wontons on a sheet tray while making the soup.
These wontons also freeze beautifully! Slide the tray of wontons in your freezer and once frozen solid, transfer to a sealable bag. When ready to make the soup, place the frozen wontons right into the pot to cook - don’t defrost them first. You can alternatively fry or steam the wontons and serve with a soy dipping sauce or Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce.
Now it’s Time to Make the Soup
Place your good quality or homemade chicken stock in a saucepot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the soy, ginger slices, the whites of the scallions and salt to taste. This is where MSG can come in handy to help boost the flavor of the soup. I think you’ll find that most chefs have a bottle of MSG in their kitchens for when that soup, sauce or stew needs any extra boost of flavor.
Once you’re happy with the flavor of your soup, it’s time to cook the wontons. Place all of the wontons in the simmering soup and gently stir to ensure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
Cook, stirring every so often, until the dumplings plump up and the filling is cooked, 8 to 10 minutes.
Ladle into bowls, top with a garnish of scallion greens and serve.
Shrimp Wonton Soup
Yield: 6-8 servings with approximately 30 dumplings
Active time: 1 hour
Start to finish: 1 hour
For the wontons:
1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound ground pork
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated
1 scallion, thinly sliced on the bias
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
30 square wonton wrappers, defrosted
Water as needed to seal the wrappers
For the soup:
8 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 slices ginger
3 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
Salt to taste
1. To prepare the wontons, place the shrimp, pork, garlic, ginger, scallion, soy sauce and sesame oil in a food processor. Puree until mostly smooth. Note: If you don’t have a food processor, finely chop the shrimp with a knife and mix with the remaining ingredients.
2. Place 10 wrappers at a time on a flat surface and spoon about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center. Using your finger, brush the edges with water. Fold the wrapper over to make a triangle and seal the edges tightly. Note: We only make 10 at a time because the wonton wrappers dry out very quickly making it hard to seal the edges.
3. Brush 1 corner of the folded edge with water, bring the opposite corners together and press firmly to make the dumpling shape.
4. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers. Set aside on a sheet tray while preparing the soup.
5. To prepare the soup, heat the stock in a saucepot until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the soy sauce, ginger slices and the sliced whites of the scallions. Season with salt to taste.
6. Gently place all of the wontons in the pot, stirring gently to ensure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Cook until the wontons plump up and the filling is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
7. Ladle into bowl and garnish with the sliced greens of the scallions.
In addition to the soup, I made a batch of orange-sesame chicken with steamed rice, which is a real crowd pleaser in my house. It involves dredging and frying the chicken and then tossing it with the sauce, and I made steamed white and brown rice, so suffice to say there were a million dishes to do when everything was said and done. But it was totally worth it!
Come celebrate Chinese New Year with us on Monday, February 16 at 6pm and learn how to make Orange-Sesame Chicken along with Hot and Sour Soup with Tofu, Shrimp Pot Stickers with Soy Dipping Sauce and Vegetable Lo Mein with Broccoli, Mushrooms and Peppers. We’ll do all the dishes, I promise! Space is limited so sign up now!
