Wonton Soup Recipe

Did you know that I am 100% Chinese? My parents were both born in China, my siblings and I are the first generation born in the U.S. and my family owned a Chinese restaurant for 45 years. That means wonton soup is in my blood.

I used to watch my mother for hours as she hand wrap wontons at the restaurant for wonton soup. It’s definitely a labor of love that I think everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.

These wontons taste fantastic when fresh but also freeze beautifully. Lay them out on a lined sheet pan to freeze for an hour or two, then transfer to a ziplock bag or airtight container and use within 6 months. You can boil them right from frozen state with no need to thaw.

My kids absolutely LOVE this wonton soup especially when served with the Chinese egg noodles. It’s a complete meal when served with Chinese greens (Chinese broccoli or bok choy).

There are a billion recipes out there for wonton filling which can include “everything but the kitchen sink” to just pork and onions. Mine is somewhere in between and very close to this recipe. It’s so delicious and freezes well! If you’re freezing it, just be sure to use fresh ground pork (not previously frozen), and either fresh shrimp or frozen shrimp that you have cooked prior to putting it in the filling.

For class, we omitted the shrimp component for time sake but I wanted to include that in this recipe since that is the way I usually make it at home.

Wonton Soup
Prep Time: 40 minutes (for initial wonton stuffing unless you have help wrapping)
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes (unless you have help wrapping!)
Servings: 100 wontons

Ingredients

• 100 wonton wrappers

WONTON FILLING

• 1 pound ground pork (fresh is preferred, or frozen should be thawed in the refrigerator a day in advance). If you start with frozen ground pork, you should NOT re-freeze these wontons.
• 1 pound fresh shrimp or frozen shrimp (be sure to cook shrimp if freezing wontons)
• 4 green onions , finely chopped (10 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp less sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 3 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine or sake (Shaoxing wine)
• 1/2 tsp salt (skip the salt if you used regular full sodium soy sauce)
• 2-3 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

BROTH (FOR 2 SERVINGS)

• 3 cups chicken broth (or water + bullion) 
• 1 garlic clove , smashed
• ⅓” / 1 cm piece of ginger , sliced (optional, but highly recommended)
• 1½ Tbsp less sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1½ Tbsp Chinese cooking wine (optional)
• ¼ – ½ tsp sesame oil

TO SERVE

• Sprinkle of shallots / scallions , finely chopped
• Bok choy , quartered, or Chinese broccoli cut into 10cm /4″ lengths (optional)
• 40 – 50 g / 1.5 – 1.75 oz dried egg noodles per person , (optional)

Instructions

WONTONS:

1. Since I am freezing the extra wontons, we boil water and drop frozen shrimp in for a few minutes to cook them lightly. Then transfer to a bowl of ice water to shock them and stop the cooking process. Chop lightly to prepare for the filling.
2. Place Filling ingredients in a bowl. Use a potato masher or back of a fork to mash until fairly smooth. Don’t turn the shrimp into a complete paste, small chunks are good. Alternatively, you can throw everything but the shrimp into a food processor and give it a few pulses. Then add the chopped shrimp last and fold into the smooth filling.

WRAPPING

1. Lay Wontons on work surface. Use a teaspoon to put the filling on the wontons. Fold to seal, pressing out air. Brush water on two sides and bring corners together, pressing to seal. Crimp the ends up to the center to make a little pouch.
2. Place wrapped wontons into a container with a lid as you work (so they don’t dry out).

COOKING/FREEZING:

1. To cook: bring a large pot of water to boil. Place wontons in water and cook for 4 minutes or until they float. Remove with slotted spoon straight into serving bowls. Ladle hot broth over the top.
2. To freeze: Freeze uncooked in airtight containers. Cook from frozen for 6 to 8 minutes. IMPORTANT: Do not freeze if you made this with defrosted frozen prawns unless you cooked them before making the wonton filling. Do not freeze if you used frozen/thawed ground pork.

BROTH:

1. Place Broth ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Add white ends of scallions/shallots if leftover from Wonton filling.
2. Place lid on, bring to simmer then reduce to medium high and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes to allow the flavors to infuse. Pick garlic and ginger out before using.
3. If using vegetables, blanch in the soup broth and place in serving bowl.

ASSEMBLE SOUP:

1. Prepare noodles according to packet directions (if using noodles). Place in serving bowl with cooked wontons and blanched vegetables.
2. Ladle over soup. Serve!

The students did a wonderful job with this recipe. It was a lot of hand work and such a fun experience for us to have together. I heard a few students say they want to make this at home so that is very exciting for me! I love the positive feedback ♥️

Ingredient sourcing: everything listed can be found at Asian grocery stores. I have also had good luck buying wonton skins at local grocery stores like Cub Foods in the fresh section up front by the salad bags.

Cooking wine / sake: you can definitely find sake at any liquor store. Chinese cooking wine can be found at Asian grocery stores.

Next week
We do NOT need knives or cutting boards next week. We’ll be practicing some brunch items so the students can cook for the family over a long Thanksgiving weekend.

Written By

Diana Dutcher

I am an educator and entrepreneur who is passionate about non-toxic living. I get to be with my five kiddos (8, 6-year old twins, and 4-year old twins) in the mornings and teach in the afternoons or evenings. It’s a beautiful abundant life 💖