This soup changed my life.
Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it did change my feelings regarding the soupy area of Chinese food. For many years I’d been operating under the belief that I liked these soups, only to order them at my local Chinese place to discover that I, in fact, do not like them. They’d always end up tasting too fishy or too bland. This was a very disappointing cycle. Much like how I always think I’m going to find a million cute things in Forever 21 and never fail to emerge cranky and empty-handed.
This pretty little dish was different. Thanks to a handful of simple ingredients—including a sprinkling of some very tasty sesame oil—that make up a yummy chicken broth base and a pork and shrimp wonton stuffing, this soup has all the flavor and none of the bad egg drop memories.
When it came to the wontons, I took an even more expedient approach by pureeing the filling in a food processor, making it easier to measure out and handle. It was just a matter of filling each wonton wrapper like so…
…and they were ready to go.
In this case, rather than simply boil the wontons and risk them disintegrating, I popped ‘em in a steamer for 10 minutes, which let them retain their shape much better. Overall, they held up nicely, except for my first few attempts at shaping them. Wonton construction definitely requires a bit of practice, but you catch on fast.
What really drew me in about this soup in particular was the fact that it was authentic. The second I read over on joylicious that this soup was her mom’s recipe straight from Shanghai, I was sold. Besides the fact that I’ve always wanted to visit Shanghai, the simple, wholesome flavor of this dish alone was just what I needed to soothe my fears and officially push me over into soup lovin’ land.
And let me tell you, that’s a good place to be.
You can find the recipe over at joylicious.
Wanton soup and soya sauce dry noodle always my fav lunch 😛
The wonton soup looks soooo good. I love how you made wontons for the soup. And your photos are just lovely! 🙂
wanton soup looks very delicious …very nicely explained …thanks for sharing …i will try it surely
Satya
superyummyrecipes.com
Your pictures are so beautiful & the wonton soup looks delicious. I *think* my sister and I were planning on making this over Christmas – I'll have to bookmark the page!
(p.s. I'm so glad you have your Halloween Daleks at the side of the page.)
You are amazing for making your own wontons. I made a similar soup and used the potstickers I had in the freezer. I'm sure yours tastes better.
@Yin: That sounds like a yummy lunch! 😀
@Lindsey: Thank you! Thanks to the pre-packaged wonton wrappers, they're actually pretty easy to throw together.
@Satya: Thanks!
@Suzler: This is a great cold weather soup. You should definitely enlist your sister to help with the wonton wrapping. 😀
Those Halloween Daleks are my pride and joy. I think I may end up making a Christmas version, too. Nothing says "Peace on Earth" like a robotic exterminating machine.
@Damaris: Thank you! I like the idea of using store-bough pot stickers, too! That'd be such a great, quick dinner!
Your wontons look pro! Never made them before, but I love the idea of homemade wonton soup, takeout version is like sodium overload, so thanks!
OH I love simple wonton soups. I can see why it changed your life hehe (=
I'm with you on being disappointed by fishy taste or bland broth. Sounds like you found a great recipe. I'm going to try it. My famiy loves wonton soup and I always find lots of fun things to make with the leftover wonton wrappers.
Plan B
oh my. i do love wonton soup – and i happen to have wonton wrappers in the fridge! (made some ravioli with them!!) this looks like a must try to me sweet bella!