Slurpishly good Wonton Soup with a Korean meat filling, Bok Choy & Bean Sprouts garnished with Green Onions & Korean Chili Flakes (Gochugaru) if desired. Top it off with Crispy Fried Wontons for an unforgettable Wonton Soup recipe you will always want to come back to every once in a while.
Authentic Wonton Soup Base
An Authentic Wonton soup base requires a long simmer time of both Chicken & Pork. The entire broth is kept at a temp of 80-90 C or 175-195F, never brought to a boil. Instead just shy of a simmer to help keep the broth very clear. Choice chicken cuts are parts very high in collagen such as wings or wing tips and/or chicken feet. Choice of pork is pork feet, again for the high concentration of gelatin that can be extracted. This is responsible for the rich mouthfeel of the wonton soup. Mushrooms and Kombu are often added along with other aromatics such as ginger and scallions with sugar and white pepper.
The boiling of vegetables and the wontons are done in salted water instead of the wonton broth as to not cloud the wonton broth. Then the hot wonton broth is ladled over the vegetables & wontons in the bowl to be served.
Wonton Soup Ingredients
Soup Base (Chicken Broth, Garlic, Ginger, Green Onions, Sake, Sugar, White Pepper, MSG, Gelatin) with Bok Choy, Bean Sprouts, Wontons (Wonton Wrappers, Korean Meat filling (ground Beef & Pork, Soy sauce, Rice Vinegar, Mirin, Gochujang, Sea Salt, Garlic Powder, Ginger Powder, Green Onions)).
Wonton Soup Base
Most Wonton soup recipes today use a basic Chicken Broth with Garlic, Ginger & Green Onions. It can include various spices and commonly a bit of Soy Sauce and/or Chinese Cooking wine with acidity if desired. Some Chinese restaraunts will add a bit of Yellow Food Coloring or Tumeric to color the broth. Almost all will use MSG as the Umami Flavor to elevate the broth and often with a bit of sugar. I add gelatin to mimic the naturual gelatin extracted from bones in broth making. Which offers up a elegant rich mouthfeel to the broth.
For me the addition of Sake, Sugar, MSG, White Pepper and Gelatin really elevates the flavors. Optionally with Korean Chili Flakes (Gochugaru), the same ones used to make Kimchi. This can be omitted, but the extra bit of heat & flavor it contributes is really nice and not at all that spicy. Gochugaru Chili flakes can also be used just for garnishing or placing into the bowls along with Sesame Oil & Soy Sauce.
Chinese Wonton Soup broth made from scratch usually includes both chicken and pork that is simmered for a long time. For this reason another option is to use 1 chicken bouillon and 1 pork bouillon in place of the 2 chicken bouillon used in the main recipe.
Wonton Soup Base
- 3 x (412 ml) cans Chicken Broth or 5 Cups Chicken Broth or 5 Cups Water plus 2 Bouillon Cubes.
- 3 cloves Garlic – Crushed
- 1 inch Ginger – Sliced thin
- 2 Green Onions – Sliced or chopped
- 1/2 Tbl Sake
- 1 tsp Sugar, MSG & Gelatin
- Pinch of White Pepper – can use Black Pepper to taste
Bouillion Broth
Instead of canned Chicken Broth, which you will need about 3 x 412 ml cans for about 5 cups of Broth. Two (2) Bouillon Cubes can be combined with 5 Cups of water. It produces a cloudier broth, but can be used just the same. You can also use one each of Chicken & Pork Bouillon cubes for the wonton soup base.
Whenever using bouillon cubes, you will want to skim the scum if any that rises and strain the broth through a fine sieve after the aromatics have simmered and softened, to produce a cleaner broth. You don’t get a clean clear broth usually associated with wonton soup, but it’s just as good the same and the calrity of the Chicken broth can be maintained, simply by simmering both any added vegetables and the wontons in their own pot of salted water so that they don’t cloud the chicken broth. if you’re not concerned with this, then by all means everything can be boiled in the wonton soup base.
Soy Sauce
Soy sauce is used to add flavor to the wonton soup with regular Soy Sauce used for a light Wonton Soup or a Dark Soy Sauce for a dark Wonton Soup, usually when beef is involved for the wonton filling. Regular or light soy sauce for Pork, Pork & Shrimp or Chicken Wonton Soup. It can be included in the wonton soup, if everyone is having the same. Else add to the individual bowls themselves as a preference. Since some may desire regular soy sauce and others a dark so sauce, or none at all.
One of my favorites to include is either Dark or Mushroom Soy Sauce for both the umami punch and dark color. Another maybe more uncommon one is Datu Puti Soy Sauce, but it does contribute a sweetness to the Wonton Soup.
You can use whatever you like, and the below is just a recommendation.
- For Pork, Pork & Shrimp, or Chicken Wonton Soup, keep the Soy Sauce light or omit.
- For Beef or Beef & Pork Wontons, go with a Soy Sauce that is Dark or omit.
Dark Wonton Soup
Made with Beef & Pork Wontons and Mushroom Soy Sauce to color the broth dark and add extra Umami. Added vegetables are Bok Choy & Bean Sprouts.
Light Wonton Soup
This is Wonton Soup, made with Chicken Broth. This one is made with Frozen Homemade Pork Wontons and a light or regular soy sauce with thinly sliced Carrots instead of Bean Sprouts with Bok Choy. The Vegetables were simmered separatly, then the wontons added and tossed in the bowl.
Clear Wonton Soup
Clear wonton soup is the traditional or classic version and usually made as a consumme or a very low and slow process where the broth is kept just below simmering. In fact you can pick up cans of Chicken Consumme and use this as the Broth base with the remaining ingredients added. Homemade consumme is a bit more in depth. Most will just use regular Chicken Broth and skim the broth to remove any skum that rises to the surface to create a clearer broth.
Another useful tip in a Clear Wonton Soup base is that the soup base itself is not used to simmer the wontons or vegetables. It is kept warm and used only to ladle into the bowls, while the wontons and any vegeatbles are boiled in just salted water. This is because boiling the vegetabels and wontons in the wonton soup base will cloud the soup. Boiling them separately, cooks the vegetabels and wontons while the wonton soup base remains clean and clear. The salted water also adds flavor to anything being simmered and this approach is taken in the main recipe below.
Skimming Broth
Skimming is the most common and simplest method to clarify broth. As the broth comes to a simmer, impurities and foam, which come from proteins, fat, and other particles, rise to the surface. This is skimmed off to produce a cleaner broth.
How to skim Broth
- Bring the broth to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
- As it heats, you’ll notice foam and scum (impurities) start to form on the surface.
- Skim this foam off with a ladle or spoon, discarding it. This should be done several times, especially during the first few minutes of simmering.
- Once most of the foam is removed, lower the heat to maintain a simmer and continue cooking the broth.
How to Cook Wonton Soup Base
The soup base itself, without any wontons, is simple enough. Just combine all the ingredients together and heat to a just a simmer. Skim off any scum if present and reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover and keep warm on the back burner. This is all that is done with the Wonton Broth. The vegetables and wontons themselves are boiled separately in salted water and transfered to the bowls. Then Broth is ladled over.
Before using the Wonton Broth, scoop the solids out to discard. They should have at least 10 minutes simmering time or longer before being scooped out. Start the wonton soup base first and then move unto preparing the vegetables and wontons.
Single Bowl Wonton soup
This method uses various seasonings or sauces added to individual bowls. The Wontons are simmered and then scooped out with some broth to place into a single serving bowl. The one pictured below had 1-2 Tbl of the Chinese Dipping sauce in the bowl. Regular or dark soy sauce can be added here too, along with Sesame Oil and other ingredients.
It’s an excellent way of serving wonton soup and allows for customization for each bowl. Some may want extra soy sauce or added acidity, while other do not. Even extra heat with Chili Flakes, Chili Oil etc..
This even extends to the vegetables where some may want Bok Choy and/or Bean sprouts and others do not. The Vegetables can be simmered first and then scooped out to place into the bowls, where those vegetables are desired. Finally the Wontons simmered and placed into the bowls with broth. Each person has their own customized bowl of Wonton Soup!
Wontons
With the Wonton Filling made up, separate each Wonton wrapper so we’re ready to go and make some wontons. Lay out a baking sheet to hold all of the wontons as you make them.
Wonton Wrappers
Wonton wrappers are usually made with just Flour, Water, and Salt. While Eggroll wrappers are made with the same ingredients with an egg added. Egg roll wrappers are typically about 8–10 inches squared and wonton about 4 inches squared. This means that 4 wonton wrappers can be sliced from 1 Eggroll wrapper. A key difference though is that Eggroll wrappers are typically thicker than wonton wrappers. Although at the Chinese restaurant worked at as one of my very first jobs, I believe we did in fact use Eggroll wrappers. Either way, this will come down to preference. More so if you want your wontons to hold their shape better, than go with eggroll wrappers.
The store bought wonton wrappers are about $2.00 CAD. You typically get 1 lb (ca. 454 g), which is about 66-72 wontons wrappers.
Egg Roll Wonton Wrappers
A package of Egg Roll Wrappers can be sliced into four (4) equal parts to create the wonton wrappers. These are also a bit thicker than wonton wrappers and becuse of that the wonton shape is held up much better than wonton wrappers in my opionion. They also make for excellent fried wontons.
Wonton Filling
The choice filling for this recipe is a Korean Meat mixture consisting of 50-50 Ground Beef & Pork, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Mirin, Gochujang, Sea Salt, Garlic Powder, Ginger Powder, Green Onions.
Korean Meat Filling
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 1 Green Onion minced
- 1 Tbl each of Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Mirin, & Gochujang Paste
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder & Sea Salt each
- 1/4 tsp Ginger Powder
How much meat filling for Wontons
Generally, wontons are filled with 1 tsp portions of meat filling. About 1 lb of meat, depending on what fillers are added will be enough to use up both stacks from 1 package of Wonton Wrappers or about 66-72 wrappers.
How to Fold Wontons
Most Chinese restaurants will fold wontons in the below way. However, there are all kinds of ways to fold Wontons and this is one area you can really experiment and have some fun. You can’t really mess it up. As long as the wonton filling is completely sealed, your good. Now for Aesthetics, then you will want consistent, nicely folded wontons.
These images below were made with the Gyoza Dumpling Filling. But is used to illustrate how wontons are folded and can be used for both Wonton soup and Fried Wontons just the same.
Center the 1 tsp of meat and wet the top half by dipping your finger or a brush into a bowl of water.
Fold over into a triangle. Press any air out and seal. Try to ensure your edges line up.
Wet one corner so that the other corner has something to stick too when folded.
Fold in the opposite corner to create the Wonton and press the ends to seal and stay together. Repeat for each wonton.
How to Cook Wontons
Wontons can be simmered in the broth, but this tends to cloud the broth, especially the more you make. In order to have the cleanest broth, wontons and vegetables are simmered in salted water while the wonton broth is kept warm. The wontons and vegetables are scooped out and placed into a bowl with hot wonton broth ladled over. If the clarity of the broth is not a concern, then by all means everything can be simmered in the wonton broth. Although simmering the Vegetables and Wontons in salted water also seasons them very well.
Fresh made Wontons are simmered for about 4-5 minutes, or until they float, that’s it. The filling in them is so small that they really cook up in no times at all. It takes double the time, about 8-10 minutes to cook straight from frozen.
Stir every so often to keep them moving to avoid them getting stuck to the bottom. Avoid hard boiling as this can cause the wontons to break apart. A gentle simmer is all that is needed for about 4-5 minutes.
The Bok Choy & Bean Sprouts can be added during the last minute. You can also add the Bok Choy & Bean Sprouts first to simmer for about a minute or until tender and then scoop them out to place in the bowls. Then simmer the Wontons until done to finish.
Wonton Soup by the Bowl
Cooking everything up separately does take a bit of extra time, but it ensures everything is cooked perfectly. Not only that, but each bowl can be customized however you like. One person may want spicy ingredients added to their bowl, such as Gochugaru Chili Flakes or Chili Oil. Another may want just vegetables, while someone else does not. Boiling everything separatley allows to do just this and it’s easy enough too. Just follow these steps;
With the Wonton Soup base already made up and kept warm;
- Get your bowls ready with any additional ingredients placed into them such as Gochugaru Chili Flakes, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Green Onion and other ingredients.
- Add Vegetables to the salted warter and simmer until just tender, scoop out and place them into their bowls.
- Add the Wontons and simmer 4-5 minutes, scoop them out and place into their bowls.
- Ladle the Wonton Soup base into each bowl and serve. Optionally garnish before serving.
Voila! Everyone is happy with having their own customized bowl of wonton soup.
Wonton Soup Vegetables
There are all kinds of Vegetables that can be added to Wonton Soup. The vegetables can be added at various stages, depending on their cook time with the wontons and everything cooked together. The vegetables can also be added to cook until done and scooped out to place into the bowl before moving on to your next vegetables and finally wontons to place on top in each bowl. This method is probably the easiest and ensures tender vegetables. Although it does take a bit longer.
Wonton Soup Vegetables may include: Bok Choy, Bean Sprouts, Carrots, Green Onions, Napa, Mushrooms, Celery, Chives, Ginger, Leek, or Shallots.
Everything together
The Wontons are added to simmer for 4-5 minutes with the Bean Sprouts & Bok Choy added the last minute, since these take no time at all to cook. If using frozen wontons, then 8-10 minutes for the wontons.
Simmered Separately
Carrots were added and simmered until soft before adding in the Bok Choy to simmer a minute or so. These are then scooped out to place into the bowls, before adding the Wontons to cook.
Simmered Vegetables
The simmered vegetables are scooped out and placed into the serving bowl to await the wontons and broth.
Use a large spoon to scoop up the vegetables at the bottom of the bowl, up and over, to give that look of Wontons & Vegetables. Garnish with Green Onions & Chili Flakes.
Wonton Scoop
You will want to use a Spider to scoop out the Wontons & Vegetables so that they are handled gently and alot can be scooped out at one time.
How many Wontons per serving
Generally 8-9 wontons are served for Wonton Soup and is an ideal serving. Fried Wontons are just the same, unless being served as a side with Wonton Soup. Then 3-5 Fried Wontons is good.
How to Freeze Wontons
Once the Wontons are prepared, spread the Wontons out with space between them on a baking sheet and into the freezer. Once fully frozen, transfer them to a Ziploc bag to keep for up to 3 months. Frozen Wontons can go straight to simmering. Either simmered for 8-10 minutes or fried for 6-8 minutes.
Fried Wontons
These are just prepared Wontons that are deep-fried at 350 F for about 3–4 minutes. Served with a side of Sweet & Sour Sauce or Plum Sauce. Garnish the Fried Wontons with Green Onions and Korean Chili Flakes for a nice touch.
These are also excellent to serve with Wonton Soup as a side and offer up a crunchy contrast to the soft wontons in the soup. Just Delicious!
Wok Deep Frying
With Fried Wontons & Wonton Soup, deep fry the Wontons first. Then empty the Hot Oil and go straight to making Wonton Soup, all in the same Wok.
Place a deep pot, large enough to fit all of the oil and on the back burner, no heat. Fitted with a fine sieve to strain out the Hot Oil. Deep fry the Wontons and empty the hot oil into the pot through the sieve. Go straight to filling it with 16 cups of water and 2 Tbl of Sea Salt to bring to a boil while covered. Simmer the vegetables and Wontons and you’re done.
Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce
The Sweet & Sour Sauce is not only an enjoyable dipping sauce for the Fried Wontons. But even a little bit while you slurp the soup base is very pleasant too. To the right is the Korean Sweet & Sour Sauce. This one is very quick and easy to put together. Just combine the ingredients into a sauce pot and bring to a boil while mixing until thickened.
Wonton Garnishing
Ganish the Wonton Soup with Green Onions & Chili Flakes. Chives can also be used or included. The Korean Red Chili Flakes are a really nice addition and does an excellent job at adding some depth without being to overly spicy at all. It’s a wonderful addition and is the same kind of Chili flakes (Gochugaru) used for Kimchi.
Quick Wonton Soup
If pressed for time and you just want to enjoy wonton soup quickly with minimal effort. Then a package of Frozen Wontons can be used. Just place all the ingredients in for the Wonton Soup and bring to a boil. Add your frozen wontons and cook for 8-10 minutes. Reduce the heat if needed to stay at a gentle simmer. Add your Vegetables (Bok Choy & Bean Sprouts during the last minutes or so to soften and Voila! Done in about 25-30 minutes.
Equipment
- 1 Wok or pasta pot for simmering the Vegetables & Wontons
- 1 Medium Sauce Pot for the Wonton Soup Base
- 1 Spider for scooping out the vegetables and wontons
- 3 Mixing Bowl for Wonton Filling, Bok Choy, and Bean Sprouts
- 1 Small Bowl for the water, used to seal the wontons
- 1 Sieve for straining or scooping up the solids from the wonton soup
- 1 Hotel Ladle
Ingredients
- 1 pack Wonton Wrappers
- 3 Small Baby Bok Choy
- Handful Bean Sprouts
- 16 C Water
- 2 Tbl Sea Salt
Wonton Soup
- 3 Cans Chinese Chicken Broth (412ml) - or 5 Cups of Water with 2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes or 1 Chicken and 1 Pork
- 3 cloves Garlic - Crushed or thinly sliced
- 1 inch Ginger - Thinly sliced
- 2 stalks Green Onions - Sliced or chopped, white parts only, save the green for garnishing
- 1/2 Tbl Sake
- 1 tsp Sugar, MSG & Gelatin - each
- 1 Pinch White Pepper - can use Black Pepper
Wonton Filling
- 1 lb Ground Beef & Pork - or either ground beef or ground pork
- 1 Tbl Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Mirin, & Gochujang - each
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt & Garlic Powder - each
- 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1-2 Stalks Green Onions
Instructions
- Cook Broth: Combine Wonton Soup ingredients in a wok or pot, bring to just a simmer over max heat, skim scum, reduce heat to low, cover, and keep warm.
- Prepare Filling & Vegetables: Combine the ingredients for the Wonton Filling and mix well. Place Bean Sprouts into a bowl and rinse well. Chop the bottom stem of the bok choy and separate the leaves. Place into a bowl and rinse.
- Form Wontons: Place 1 tsp of filling on each Wrapper, wet edges with your finger or brush dipped in water, fold into Wontons, and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat until all filling or wrappers are used.Half of the wontons can be used for the Wonton Soup, or about 8–9 wontons per bowl over 4 bowls (32–36 wontons in total). The other half (32–36 wontons) can be used for fried wontons or frozen to make wonton soup again at a later time.
- Simmer Wontons & Vegetables: Bring another pot of 16 C of Water & 2 Tbl of Sea Salt to a boil over max heat. Add Bok Choy to the pot and cook for 1–2 minutes, or until tender. Scoop out and divide amongst the bowls. Do the same for Bean Sprouts.Add 32–36 Wontons to simmering salted water for 4–5 minutes, stir every so often so they don't get stuck. Reduce the heat if needed to stay at a gentle simmer. Scoop out and place 8–9 wontons in each bowl.
- Assemble Soup: Scoop out the solids from Wonton Broth and ladle into the bowls over the Vegetables & Wontons. Garnish with Green Onions/Chives and Gochugaru Chili Flakes.Optionally, 1-2 Tbl of Chinese Dipping Sauce or just soy sauce can be added to the bowls for extra flavor. Regular soy sauce for a light wonton soup or dark soy sauce for a dark wonton soup. This can include sesame oil, hot sauces, chili flakes, green onions and other ingredients that don't really need to be cooked.
Notes
- Soup: The Wonton Soup base can be exchanged with 5 Cups of Chicken Broth, two (2) Chicken Bouillon with 5 Cups of Water, or 5 Cups of Water with a Bouillon cube each of Chicken & Pork.
- Filling: The Wonton filling can be the Korean filling provided in the main recipe or the Gyoza dumpling filling with the Napa cabbage reduced by half or omitted and included in the soup itself. Other dumpling fillings that are more protein forward, or just the classic wonton filling of Ground Pork & Shrimp with other ingredients added.
- Wrappers: The Wonton wrappers can be store bought dumpling wrappers or Egg Roll wrappers sliced into four (4) equal parts. Which has the advantage of being a bit thicker, so the wontons hold their shape really well. Plus, they deep-fry up very nicely. Either one, Dumpling wrappers or Egg Roll Wrappers can be used.
- Custom Bowls: Each bowl can be customized with additional ingredients added to the bowls themselves. Add Chinese Dipping Sauce or Soy Sauce for Salty, Rice Vinegar for Sourness, Sugar, Hoisin, Oyster sauce or Mirin for Sweetness, Sesame Oil or more MSG for savoriness, Chili Flakes, Chili Oils, or Hot sauces for Spiciness.