This could be a wonderful project for a long weekend—invite some friends over and make wontons. Winnie’s recipe may be long but it’s detailed and easy to follow, a boon for novice wonton makers. Dive in!
“I chose this as a budget dish because it’s versatile, filling and easily stretched. Homemade stocks are probably the number one way to bring a dish to the next level, all the while using what might otherwise be food scraps. The wonton broth recipe here is optional, you could use chicken or veg stock instead but it makes a world of difference. The proteins used are inexpensive and the way the roasted shrimp shells enhance the depth of flavour is just lovely. (Seeing the way my mom would hoard frozen shrimp shells in the freezer makes so much more sense now.) This dish is a jumping off point, if you want to make the proteins go a bit further take some leftover leafy greens that are maybe on their way out, blanch, then chop in a food processor. Wring out as much moisture as possible and fold that into the dumpling filling too. Other things I learned from my mom to jazz up this dish: she would use the leftover wonton wrappers as noodles by cutting them in half and it’d be like a silky pappardelle noodle in the broth, adding another interesting textural element. Plus, making wontons is fun.” -chef/owner Winnie Chen, Fu’s Repair Shop.
Wonton Broth
| 1 c | shellfish shells, including the head and shells from the peeled shrimp |
| 2 c | pork or other bones for stock |
| 5 L | water |
| 4 cloves | garlic, lightly crushed |
| 1 1.5-in | piece of ginger, peeled and lightly crushed |
| ½ c | Shaoxing wine or cooking sherry |
| 1 lg | onion, peeled and quartered |
| 1 | carrot, roughly chopped |
| 2 | green onions, roughly chopped |
| 1 | bay leaf |
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Spread the shells and bones on a tray and roast for about 10 minutes. Transfer roasted bones and shells to a stock pot and add the water. Put the heat on high until there is some movement in the water, and bubbles are just beginning to form. Don’t let the water boil, reduce the heat to medium and try to maintain this temperature. Do not stir the shells as it will muddy the stock. Skim any foam that forms. Let the shells and bones cook for about an hour. At this point, there should be less foam consistently forming. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring the pot up to a light simmer and lower the heat again to maintain this. Let the stock simmer for at least 30 more minutes, but a few hours would be ideal. With a spider or tongs, remove some of the larger pieces from the stock then strain the remaining liquid through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Use immediately or cool and store.
Wontons
| 30-40 | wonton wrappers |
| 15-18 pcs | small or 10-13 medium shrimp (for the purpose of this recipe, use shell on) |
| 1 c | ground pork (200g approx.) can sub chicken but pork makes a tender and bouncy wonton |
| 1 T | finely grated ginger |
| 1 T | minced garlic |
| 1 | shallot |
| 2 | green onions (whites and greens divided) |
| 2 t | light or regular soy sauce |
| 2 T | Shaoxing wine or cooking sherry |
| ½ t | salt |
| ½ t | cornstarch |
| ½ t | MSG (optional, but this is how my mom made it) |
| ¼ t | white pepper (optional, but I really like how it pairs with the sesame oil.) |
| 2 T | toasted sesame oil |
Make the Filling: Peel and chop the shrimp into small pieces. Reserve. (Keep the shells and heads if you are making broth.) To a large bowl, add the ground pork, ginger, garlic, shallot, white part of the green onions, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, cornstarch, MSG, white pepper and sesame oil and whip everything together with chopsticks, or in a food processor for a few minutes, until the mixture resembles a paste. Then mix in the chopped shrimp.
Fold the Wontons: With the wrapper in the palm of your hand, add about a teaspoon of filling to the middle. Brush along the edge of the wrapper with water and fold the wrapper in half (the 2 wet edges will seal the wonton closed), forming a triangle over the filling. Try to press closed any space around the filling so there are no air pockets inside the wonton. Now brush a bit of water on one of the outer tips of the triangle, bring the 2 outer tips together and press to seal (similar to folding a tortellini). Continue until the filling is used up (any extra wontons can be frozen).
Cook the wontons: Add the wontons to the boiling water and cook for 4-5 minutes, until they begin to float and the filling is cooked through.
Make the Soup
| 1.5 L | broth from above or a good quality chicken or veg stock |
| 2 T | light or regular soy sauce |
| 1-inch | piece of ginger (if not using recipe broth) |
| 1 T | white sugar |
| 1 t | white pepper |
| salt to taste | |
| toasted sesame oil, for drizzling | |
| scallion greens | |
| 4 pcs | bok choy, washed, quartered and blanched |
Combine all the ingredients (except sesame oil, scallion greens and bok choy) in a large pot and heat. Set aside and keep warm while you cook the wontons.
To serve: Add the wontons to the bowl with the blanched bok choy, then cover with the hot soup and garnish with the scallion greens and a few drops of sesame oil. Optional: a side of red vinegar with ginger and chilli oil to dip the wontons.
Makes 2-4 servings.
