Wanton Soup (Dumpling)

Wanton (云吞) in transcription from Cantonese is one of the Chinese traditional dishes and it is consumes anytime throughout the year. It uses wanton skins wrap with minced meat, boil it in soup or broth and consume it while it is warm, be it on its own or serves with noodles. Some would prefer it to be fried, as it is crunchy and tasty. Wanton soup can be found easily in Chinese hawker's stall or restaurant, either it is served originally with soup or dried noodles. Some restaurants have improved on the wanton recipe to enhance the taste or to make it a signature dish in their restaurant. It is called "dumpling" in English.

We consume wanton in soup since childhood, it has become an easy to make dish by our grandparents for their grandchildren's daily meal. It is one of the children's foods in most of the Chinese's home. I would prefer the wanton soup to be traditional and simple. Consume them with the hot anchovies' soup definitely gives me a satisfying feeling. It is not only healthy but also refreshing. I would also prefer to have more fresh Choy Sam in the soup, makes it more appealing, nutritious & a wholesome healthy dish.

Some useful tips / information from Wikipedia:
"To make a wonton, spread a single wrapper square across the palm of one hand, place a small clump of filling in the center, and seal the wonton into the desired shape by compressing the wrapper's edges together with the fingers. Adhesion may be improved by moistening the wrapper's inner edges, typically by dipping one's fingertip into plain water and running it across the dry dough to dissolve the extra flour. As part of the sealing process, air should be "burped" out of the interior to avoid rupturing the wonton from internal pressure when cooked."

The wanton recipe below is made according to my preference, as I prefer it to be solely minced meat & prawns without any additional condiments. By using anchovy’s soup as the base, makes the wanton taste sweet and refreshing. At the same time, minced prawns with the meat also contribute sweetness to the wanton. If you are looking for some simple yet refreshing for the little ones and for the whole family, I believed this could be one of the simple, healthy and delicious recipe!

Ingredients: 120g Semi-lean pork, minced 180g Prawns (net weight) Wanton skins, (square in shape) A bunch of Choy Sam (Green mustard), washed & trimmed Seasonings: 2 tsp Salt 2 tsp Sesame oil 2 tsp Corn flour 1 tsp White pepper Soup ingredients: 1.5 liter Water 200gm Anchovies 1.5 tsp Salt 1 tsp White pepper Method: 1. Wash prawns, remove shells and veins. Pat dry. 2. Pat flats the prawns with the back of the chopper and chop coarsely. 3. Mix minced pork and prawns together on the chopping board. 4. Add in seasonings gradually & keep on chopping. 5. Mix well and transfer to a bowl. Set aside. 6. Bring soup ingredients (except salt & pepper) to a boil. Approximately 1 hour in medium heat. 7. Once the soup becomes concentrated, drain & bring the soup back to the pot. 8. Add in salt and pepper. (Adjust the salt & pepper according to your taste). 9. Wrap the pre-mix meat with wan ton skins. Put approximately 1.5 teaspoon of meat at the middle of the wan ton skin. 10. Pull the wan ton skin upward and close it with your fingers. (You can make approximately 25 - 30 wan tons, depends on how much meat you prefer to be wrap up). 11. Heat up the soup again, once bubbling, put in wan ton and let it cook for 3 - 4 mins. (I put 8 wan tons at a time) Add in Choy Sam and boil for another 3 mins. 12. The wan ton is cooked once it is floating on the soup surface. You may boil sufficient wan ton to consume on that moment and reserve the rest for future use. 13. Dish up wan ton & choy sam, dash extra white pepper if you prefer. Serve while hot on its own or with noodles. Note: • You may need to boil the wanton batch-by-batch if you can't consume all at one time. • Do not over-boiled the wanton as it might results to rough / hard meat texture & too soft / breakable skin. • You may wrap the remaining wan ton with cling film and put it in the fridge for the next day. • You may also fry the remaining wanton.