Chinese New Year celebration is still ongoing. The celebration last until the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the new year. And during this period, there are lots of dumpling eating as dumplings are said to look like the golden ingots which were used as a medium of trade during the Ming Dynasty. Hence, they carry a symbolic meaning of wealth and prosperity.
I made chicken and prawn dumplings two weeks ago and have a separate post on that. This post however is on Wonton Noodle Soup. I made the wontons together with the chicken and prawn dumplings but froze them for an easy mid-week supper the other day.
I made my own broth here, so while it’s easy, it’s not a super quick meal. If you’re hungry and simply can’t wait, may I suggest using ready-made stock? Dinner will be ready in less than 10 minutes.
Here’s how I made my Wonton Noodle Soup.
INGREDIENTS:
- 7 frozen wontons
- 80g (1 portion) fresh wonton noodles (see photo below)
- 2½ cups water
- 70g prawn shells and heads
- 1 scallion (white part)
- 1 tsp oil
- salt to taste
- ½ bok choy
- sliced chilli and scallion (green part) for garnishing
Heat a medium size pot to medium heat. Pour the oil and fry the prawn shells and heads until fragrant and golden.
Pour in the water, add the scallion and let it simmer until it becomes a flavorful broth. This may take 30 to 45 minutes. Season with salt. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface so that the end product will be a clear broth. Strain the broth to remove the prawn shells and heads and the scallion.
When the broth is almost done, boil the wonton noodles according to the instructions on the package. Below is a photo of fresh wonton noodles which you can easily source from your local oriental store. The noodles are normally twirled into single portion – this package contains 5 portions.
When your noodles is half way cooked, add the bok choy to the pot so that it can cook together with the noodles. Once done, transfer to a bowl.
In a separate pot, bring 2 cups of tap water to a boil and boil your wontons, straight from the freezer. There is no need to leave them out to thaw. Reduce the heat to medium. When the water re-boils, add another cup of tap water at room temperature. Repeat this process one more time and when the water boils again, your wontons are ready. The wonton will float to the surface when they are done. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the wontons to the bowl.
Pour the broth and garnish with sliced scallion (the green part) and chillies.
By this time, I’m sure you’ll be pretty hungry. Enjoy your Wonton Noodle Soup straight away while still hot.
This is how I made prawn wontons:
- 200g prawns – peeled, deveined and chopped
- 1 inch ginger, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp tapioca starch
- wonton wrappers, at room temperature
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients (except the wonton wrapper) until well combined. Cover with cling film and set aside to marinade for 1/2 to 1 hour.
Leaving the rest of the wrappers under a slightly damp kitchen towel to avoid the edges from drying and making them difficult to work with, take one wrapper and place about a teaspoon of the filling onto the centre of the wrapper.
I only have the wrapper that is round in my freezer (the ones normally used for making shu mai) so that’s what I used. More often, one uses wonton wrappers that are square in shape when making Wonton Noodle Soup. I don’t know whether there is a meaning behind using either round or square wonton wrappers. Maybe some Chinese nan will scold me for this, but for me, its just a matter of shape and surely doesn’t justify a trip to the Asian grocer. More importantly, is to use wrappers which are yellow i.e. has egg content instead of the white ones, which are made without eggs.
Dip you index finger into a small bowl of water and run it around the edge of the wrapper to moisten.
Fold the wrapper into half to make a shape of half-moon. Press the egdes firmly to ensure they are completely sealed.
Moisten the tip of one end with water.
Taking both ends bring them together to the front so that one overlaps the other. Pinch to glue them tight.
One dumpling is done.
Continue the process until all the filling is gone. I managed to get 52 wontons before the filling ran out.
How to freeze wontons:
Place the wontons onto a tray or plate in a single layer. Pop into the freezer and when the wontons have frozen, gather them and keep in a freezer bag. Using this technique will allow the wontons to individually freeze making it easier to use later. If you put all the fresh wontons in a freezer bag and freeze them, they will stick to each other, making a clump of frozen wontons that are hard to pry apart. Frozen wontons keep well for months.