Wonton Soup with Bok Choy & Barbecued Pork
Chinese soups are generally very subtle in flavor. This starts with the chicken broth which is one of the simplest broths ever made and when completed has only the small flavor and nose of a chicken, it is only after you choose the soup you are making and add some seasoning, especially salt, does the chicken broth come to life, yet it is still very subtle in its overall flavor.
The chicken broth is the medium for creativity. To the chicken broth in this soup we are adding homemade wontons, baby bok choy and Chinese barbecued pork slices.
This recipe includes enough wontons for 4 bowls of soup. We cook all of the wontons and then separate them into 2 batches. One batch is for the current soup and the second batch is placed in the freezer.
We cheat a bit, we do not make our own wonton wrappers, we purchase a package from our local Chinese market.
Ingredients for the wonton filling
- 8 oz ground pork
- 8 oz shrimp, deveined, shells removed (save the shells for shrimp stock), chopped
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame seed oil
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 40 wonton wrappers
Ingredients for the soup
- 2 cups Chinese chicken broth
- 2 dried Chinese black mushrooms, rehydrated overnight, stem removed, thinly sliced
- 2 baby bok choy, rinsed
- salt
- white pepper
- 4 slices Chinese barbecued pork
- 20 wontons
- 1/4 cup finely sliced green onion
Directions for making the wonton filling
- Place the ground pork and chopped shrimp in a bowl with the 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 1/2 tsp salt, sugar, sesame seed oil, cornstarch. Mix well.
- Add the 2 beaten eggs and mix together.
Directions for making the wontons
- Moisten the edges of the wonton wrappers by dipping your finger in a bowl of water and wiping around the edge of the wrapper, this will help the edges stick together.
- Place a small amount (about 1/2 teaspoon) of pork/shrimp mixture in center of a moistened wonton wrapper and fold everything towards top. Place in a bowl.
- Once all of the wontons are completed place them in a large pot (I use a stock pot, the more water in the pot the faster it will come back to a boil and the less likely the wontons will stick to the bottom of the pot) of boiling water. Let water come back to a boil while gently stirring then cook for 5 minutes.
- Rinse the wontons under cold water and set aside.
Directions to complete the soup
- Heat 2 cups Chinese chicken broth with the mushrooms and bok choy.
- When the soup has come to a simmer, taste and adjust the salt and pepper, simmer for 4 minutes.
- Pour an equal amount of soup, mushrooms and bok choy into 2 soup bowls. Add 10 wontons and 2 pieces of barbecued pork to each bowl and sprinkle with the sliced green onion.
Note: We forgot to sprinkle the sliced green onions onto the top of the soup before we took the pictures; sorry!