A delicious homemade wonton soup made from scratch with a filling of shrimp/prawns and pork in a flavourful chicken broth, this is comfort food at its best. Quick and easy to make, with delicious dumplings that take only minutes to make, this soup is ideal for a busy midweek dinner, and it's better than any Chinese take-away.
Winter is all about comfort food, isn't it? And I have the very best one to soothe us like nothing else can: a heavenly bowl of homemade wonton soup. Forget about buying frozen ready-made wontons, you can get yours done in a matter or minutes with fresh ingredients that you can trust.
Prawns and pork are a combo used heavily in Asian recipes, especially Chinese. It's delicious, and gives a nice touch to these delicate wontons. You could, of course, choose only one meat, but together they taste even better. Let me show you how to make your own Chinese delicacy at home.
Wontons are nothing but delicious dumplings that can have any filling of your choice, from vegetarian to meat, or seafood. Use any combination you like, the folding is done the same way.
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Ingredients needed to make wonton soup
- ground pork - to make the dumplings
- shrimp/prawns - finely chopped
- spring onion- finely chopped
- ginger - finely chopped, ginger paste also ok
- garlic - finely chopped
- oyster sauce & soy sauce
- rice vinegar
- sesame oil
- wonton wrappers
- chicken broth - stock
- pak choi - too add colour and more goodness
Step-by-step photos and instructions
Right, so all you need is some wonton wrappers, which you can find at most Asian stores. Not sure about regular supermarkets, probably the big ones do have in the Asian aisle.
Usually these wrappers are either round or square. Any would do, and there are so many ways of folding a wonton, but this one is probably the easiest.
The filling
- To make the filling, combine the ground pork with finely chopped shrimp/prawns, spring onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and oyster sauce.
How to assemble the wontons
- Place about half a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper, brush the edges with water, then fold into a triangle.
- Fold the edges together to seal, then repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Careful with the filling, you really need a small amount, otherwise you won't be able to seal it properly. It does help to moist the edges of the wrappers with water before folding to seal it perfectly.
Some people use egg wash too, but plain water works just fine, so no need for that. Keep it nice and simple, that's the beauty with this soup.
How to cook the wontons
Bring a pan of water to a boil, add about 5-10 wontons (depending on the size of the pan), and cook for about 5 minutes or until the wontons float. The filling will be fully cooked (since it's such a small amount anyway) and the wrappers will be amazingly soft.
How to make the broth
It's super simple, and super delicious. Bring chicken stock (broth) to a boil, add ginger, garlic, spring onions, pak choi and leave to cook for a few minutes so that the veggies are tender. Add the wontons to the soup, and that's it, it's ready.
As for the broth itself, you can either go for chicken broth with ginger, garlic and throw in some spring onions and pak choi, or even use miso soup, for a Japanese twist. Whatever you choose, you are in for a treat!
Expert tips
This soup might look complicated to make, but trust me, it can't be any simpler. The wontons are very easy to assemble, and they don't requite any hard technique - as long as the wrappers are sealed well, they will cook perfectly.
It might seem that the cooking time is very short and the filling won't have time to cook, but given that there is such a small amount of meat inside, this does cook very quickly.
It only takes 3-4 minutes for the wontons to float, and once they do, that's it, they are cooked, and can be removed from the pan. They really are so delicious!
I used the same filling for my Pan-Fried Dumplings (Chinese Potstickers) - they are as easy to put together, and as delicious. Do give them a go!
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Wonton Soup Recipe
Ingredients
For the filling
- 100 g ground pork
- 100 g shrimp/prawns, finely chopped
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped
- 2 cloves a garlic, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 25 wonton wrappers
For the soup
- 5 cups chicken broth (stock)
- a handful of pak choi
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger, chopped
Instructions
- To make the filling, mix all the ingredients.
- Place about a teaspoon of the mixture onto a wonton wrapper, then brush the edges with water.
- Fold the wrapper like a triangle, then bring the corners together to seal. Repeat until you use up the mixture.
- Add boiling water to a pan, then add about 5-10 wontons at a time, depending how big your pan is.
- Leave to boil for about 5 minutes or until the wontons float and they are cooked through.
- To make the soup, add the chicken broth to a pan together with the garlic, ginger, pak choi and spring onion, then bring to a boil.
- Add one-two ladlefuls of the chicken broth, then some wontons.
- Serve hot!
Video
Notes
- If you'd like to see the ingredients listed in cups and ounces, please check the US Customary Link.
- Also, the amount of ingredients changes depending on the servings, so click on the number listed to change it to the number you prefer.
- It might seem that the cooking time is very short and the filling won't have time to cook, but given that there is such a small amount of meat inside, this does cook very quickly.
- It only takes 3-4 minutes for the wontons to float, and once they do, that's it, they are cooked, and can be removed from the pan. They really are so delicious!
Sarah
Excellent!!!! I added Miso to the chicken broth and it was so lovely. I got 'wonton' back from making them but it was so worth it !!!
Daniela Apostol
I am glad you liked it!
Stephanie
Can this be frozen?
Daniela Apostol
Yes, the wontons can be frozen uncooked.
Lizz
Can't wait to try this recipe. I love this soup, but these days prefer to make it myself, that includes egg rolls, and fried rice and beef and broccoli. It is so much better homemade. Thank you for giving me a Wonton Soup recipe for my recipe box. I will eat and enjoy and I have a friend going in for surgery and I will make some for her when she gets home. I just need my bok choy and I will be all set. Thanks again. Ms. Lizz
Daniela Apostol
I hope you like it!
Grace
Have you ever made this with low or no sodium broth? Really need to cut back the sodium.
Daniela Apostol
I haven't, but it's worth trying, the overall quality will not be changed.
Martha
I just made it for our gdaughter. I love wonton soup. Thank you for sharing. My gdaughter specifically asked for this soup.
Sarahjane
This was the most "great Chinese restaurant" tasting won ton soup I have ever had outside of our favorite restaurant. I have made the soup with and without misu and either way is wonderful. This is now a staple in our meal rotations!
Daniela Apostol
Amazing! I am glad you enjoyed it, thank you for your comment!
Olga
The broth is so good….I turned it into Wor wonton, adding steamed veggies, shrimp and Chinese BBQ pork along with the wontons…so delicious…this is my second time making is…and it won,t be the last….thank you for sharing…
Daniela Apostol
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Sue
I followed the directions exactly I realized that the wonton wrappers were my own fault I need more practice but the soup was so strong with the taste of the soy sauce and oh rice vinegar that I can hardly drink it What am I doing wrong
Daniela Apostol
I’m not quite sure why the soup is strong, as the broth itself only uses chicken stock, the soy sauce and rice vinegar go into the wontons and that’s a small amount anyway. Perhaps you added them to the soup by mistake?