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Won Ton Soup

Source of Recipe

Brenda/EDC (mama.pajama)


Recipe Introduction

All the talk about Won Tons below had me drooling for some good ol' homestyle "authentic Chinese" Won Ton Soup. Being ethnic Chinese (for those of you who didn't know), I've been wrapping won ton since I was a wee little won ton myself! I don't have a recipe, my hands just know how to add "a little bit of this" and "a little bit of that" but I thought I'd try to make my best guess at it...

List of Ingredients

To make the Won Ton:

1/2 lb. ground pork
about 8 medium shrimp
baking soda for washing shrimp
1 green onion stalk, chopped
small handful of water chestnuts, chopped
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. oyster sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame seed oil
1 tsp. rice wine
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. fresh ginger root, minced finely
1 egg, beaten
1 package of won ton wrappers

Variations:
(a) use ground turkey or chicken for a leaner version
(b) use a combination of pork and veal


Recipe

Devein the shrimp and wash with a handful of baking soda. Let the shrimp sit in the baking soda for a few minutes, but not longer than 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly to remove all baking soda. Chop coarsely.

Mix all the ingredients together, reserving about 1/2 of the beaten egg for sealing the won ton wrappers. Adjust seasonings as needed (I usually put a tiny bit on a plate in the microwave for about 15 seconds to cook it and taste it).

Use about 1/2 to 1 tsp of filling per wrapper.

WON TON SOUP:
Start with a good chicken broth. Somehow the canned variety just doesn't cut it. A little star anise in the broth adds an interesting flavor. Keep the broth simmering on the back stove while you boil the won ton and prepare the toppings. To boil the won ton, just bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add won ton, you might have to do this in batches, do not crowd the pot. When the won ton floats to the top, continue to boil for about 3 more minutes, remove into individual serving bowls. Add a little sesame oil to each bowl to keep the won ton from sticking to each other.


In the meantime, make an oriental-style stir fry with a variety of things like:

- char siu (barbequed pork)
- chicken
- sugar peas
- bok choy
- napa cabbage
- prawns

For seasonings for the stir fry, just use soy sauce, ginger, garlic. There IS a technique which is important to doing a good stir fry, but I will elaborate on that another time.

Put a serving of the stir fry on top of the won tons in the bowls. Pour hot broth over the top of each, top with a sprig of cilantro and a sprinkling of chopped green onions and serve immediately.

The way we eat this in my family is with Chinese hot mustard or a mixture of soy sauce and chili paste.