The Best Wonton Soup
Prep
30m
Cook
25m
Total
55m
Bigly says
Wonton soup. WONTON SOUP! The greatest soup in the history of soups — and there have been a lot of soups, I have eaten more soup than anyone alive, probably more than anyone in recorded history — and wonton soup beats every one of them. It's not even close. It's a slaughter. Tomato soup? Sad. Chicken noodle? A nice try, very cute, very American, but it's a nice try. Wonton soup is in another LEAGUE.
The best wonton soup of my life, hand on heart, was in a tiny noodle shop in a neighborhood you've never heard of, served to me by a woman who refused to speak to me for the first two visits and then on the third visit nodded once, slid the bowl across the counter, and walked away. That bowl changed me as a person. I went back fourteen times. She still wouldn't talk to me. That is the kind of soup we are chasing today. THAT level. The kind of bowl that makes a quiet woman nod, which in my experience is the highest honor a human can receive. I've eaten this in three countries you've never heard of and a noodle stand in Queens that does not have a sign, and the Queens one was top three. Top three.
The sad version you find at the bottom of a takeout menu — the dollar-ninety-nine watery broth with three floating wrappers and a rumor of meat — is a TOTAL disaster. The broth tastes like dishwater and a bouillon cube had a fight in a parking lot. The wontons are 90% wrapper and 10% mystery. That is not wonton soup. That is wet sadness on a plate. We are going to fix it. Today. Right now. The wontons, the broth, the works — pork and shrimp, ginger-scented, clear and golden — and you fold them yourself, like a proper person, and you are GOING TO LOVE IT.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lbground pork (not lean)(fat is flavor, don't go lean here)
- 1/4 lbraw shrimp, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tspfresh ginger, grated
- 1 clovegarlic, finely grated
- 4scallions, finely sliced (whites and greens separated)
- 1 tbspsoy sauce
- 1 tbspShaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tsptoasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tspwhite pepper
- 1/2 tspkosher salt
- 1 tspcornstarch
- 1 package (about 40-50)square wonton wrappers(the thin square kind, not gyoza skins)
- 8 cupslow-sodium chicken broth
- 1 inch piecefresh ginger, sliced into coins
- 2 clovesgarlic, smashed
- 2 tbspsoy sauce (for broth)
- 4 small headsbaby bok choy, halved
- 1 tsptoasted sesame oil (to finish)
- to tastechili crisp (optional, for serving)
Steps
- 1
Make the filling: in a bowl, combine the ground pork, chopped shrimp, grated ginger, grated garlic, scallion whites, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, white pepper, salt, and cornstarch. Stir in one direction with chopsticks or a fork for about a minute until the mixture looks slightly sticky and cohesive.
- 2
Set up a wonton station: a small bowl of water, the stack of wrappers (cover with a damp towel so they don't dry out), the filling, and a parchment-lined tray dusted with cornstarch.
- 3
Place one wrapper on your palm. Add a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Dip a finger in water and trace it along two adjacent edges of the wrapper.
- 4
Fold the wrapper in half diagonally to form a triangle, pressing out any air around the filling and sealing the edges. Bring the two outer corners of the triangle together below the filling and pinch them firmly to seal (the classic 'nurse's cap' shape). Place on the prepared tray. Repeat with the rest of the filling (you'll get about 35-40 wontons).
- 5
Make the broth: in a large pot, combine the chicken broth, ginger coins, smashed garlic, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Bring to a simmer, cover, and let infuse for 15 minutes over low heat.
- 6
Strain the broth back into the pot and discard the ginger and garlic. Return to a gentle simmer.
- 7
Bring a separate large pot of water to a boil. Add the wontons in batches (don't crowd) and cook 3-4 minutes, until they float and the wrappers are translucent. Use a spider to lift them directly into serving bowls.
- 8
In the last minute, drop the bok choy into the simmering broth until just wilted but still bright green.
- 9
Ladle the broth and bok choy over the wontons. Top with scallion greens, a few drops of sesame oil, and a spoonful of chili crisp if you want heat. Serve immediately.
One more thing
This is the soup that fixes your week. Cooked the wrong roast on Sunday? Wonton soup. Got bad news at work? Wonton soup. Caught a chill walking to the car? Wonton soup. It cures everything. It cures things you didn't even know were wrong with you. It is medicinal — declared so by me, just now, the authority on these matters. Make a double batch, freeze the extras, and the version of yourself who finds them in three weeks will weep with gratitude. Tell your friends.
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