Wonton Soup (makes 82 wontons)

It's the day after Hurricane Sandy.  We still did not have power in the morning.  We decided to drive to the ocean and check out the waves--they were impressive and there were a few surfers riding them.  I decided to make wonton soup using my grill when I got home.  By the time we got home the power was back up and I was able to use my stove again!  If you are looking to purchase a grill my advice to you would be to buy a good one and make sure it has a side burner so you can use it to cook.  About 3 winters ago I did not have power for several days.  I was comfortable in my home since I had water, a grill with a side burner, a fireplace with plenty of dry wood.  I was able to bath using boiled water, ate normal meals, and kept warm, while some of my neighbors left and stayed in hotels or with family/friends.

Ingredients:

16-oz (square) wonton wrappers (Hong Kong style)
1 egg yolk and 1 t water mixture (to seal wrappers)
1.4 lb lean ground pork
2 scallions, chopped
1 T minced cooked ginger (see Curt's Ginger Tea post) or 1 t fresh grated ginger
2 shallots, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 t Chinese 5-spice
2 t Chinese rice wine
1 t sesame oil
2 t fish sauce
1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 t sugar
1 egg white


For Serving Wonton Soup:

1 pot of Chicken Stock
Shredded chicken
1 scallions, sliced thinly
Cilantro leaves, chopped
Dried shallots
Chili pepper, optional
Fish sauce or soy sauce (to your taste)
Cooked vegetable (such as sliced napa cabbage, Chinese broccoli, sliced bamboo shoots, sliced carrot, sliced shiitake mushrooms, and/or spinach)

Method:

1) In a medium bowl mix pork, scallions, ginger, shallots, garlic, Chinese 5-spice, wine, sesame oil, fish, salt, pepper, sugar, and egg white until well blended.  Cover with plastic and keep refrigerated.
2) Make the broth (please see Chicken Broth post).
3) While the broth is cooking start making the wontons.
4) Take about 1 tsp of meat mixture and add to the center of a wonton wrapper (see photo below).
5) Use the egg mixture to seal 2 sides of the wrapper (see photo below).
6) Fold the sides, remove excess air, form a triangular shape (see photo below).
7) Use the egg mixture and dab a small amount on the corner of the triangle (see photo below).
8) Pinch the corners together to make a tight seal.
9) Dust a plate with all-purpose flour and put the completed wontons on this.
10) Continue to wrap all the wontons until all the wrappers or meat is gone.
11) Take what you do not use right away, stack the wontons in single file and put it in the refrigerator.
12) When ready to eat, heat water in a small pot over high heat.
13) When water starts to boil add the amount of wontons per serving (7-10 would be a good amount) and turns heat down to medium.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.

14) Remove the wontons with a slotted spoon to a large serving bowl, top with shredded chicken and cooked vegetable if desired, ladle the broth until it covers almost to the top of the wontons, garnish with a sprinkle of scallions, cilantro, dried shallots, a dollop of chili pepper, and fish sauce or soy sauce to taste.

4) take 1 tsp of meat mixture and add to the
center of a wonton wrapper (see left of plate)
5) use egg mixture to seal 2 sides of the wrapper (see bottom of plate)
6) fold the sides to form a triangle (see right of plate)
7) seal the corners together (see top of plate)

wrap all the wontons 

 cook the wontons in water

make the broth

cook the vegetable for 5 minutes in the broth
(I bought this handy Asian spider strainer
with a hook in NYC Chinatown)

Hampton Beach, NH 2012
(normally this place has a very wide sandy beach,
after the storm the beach is on the road!)

*In this recipe I used up all the meat mixture and the wonton wrappers.  However, if you find that you have left over meat then you can form little meatballs to add to the broth.  If you have left over wrappers then you can cut them into strips, cook it in simmering water and add to your soup.
*You can also serve egg noodles in the wonton soup.  When my husband and I visit NYC we like to go to Chinatown for a quick meal.  We eat this type of wonton soup where the restaurant adds egg noodles, a few slices and/or leg of roasted duck and Chinese broccoli.  The soup is satisfying and keep us warm and full until we walk to our next meal!