Easy Wonton Soup

Wonton Soup is so delightful, comforting and easy (when you’re not making the wontons, dumplings or Gyoza) to try and tackle. Last year I took this awesome course on making dumplings, Bao buns, Shao Mai and spring rolls. It was so hard and clearly an art form that you definitely can’t master in 3 hours. I appreciate everyone who makes them by scratch (same goes for all my pasta grannies). Although it was challenging, it was also the tastiest class I have ever taken, because I LOVE all of those things.

I have learned over my years that being able to build a great broth is an art form. I have made some weak broths in the past during my cooking adventures. Tricks I swear by are adding a little soy sauce, miso or chicken or beef bouillon. One of those always works; it just helps enhance the flavor so much. I swear by soy sauce added to chicken noodle soup.

Below is the recipe for a quick version of Wonton Soup, I bought pre-made frozen Gyoza and used chicken stock I had on hand instead of making it from scratch. There are some wonderful and authentic Wonton Soup recipes and videos out there if you’re interested in making them.

Ingredients

• 1 Carrot chopped
• 2-3 Green Onions chopped, about ½ cup
• Handful of cilantro chopped
• 1.5 inch nub of ginger, peeled and run it over a micro plane or finely minced
• ½ white onion sliced
• 1-3 garlic cloves
• 1.5 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
• 1.5 Tbsp. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Light miso paste
• 5 oz Shitake Mushrooms
• 8 Cups of Chicken Broth
• 2 heads of baby Bok Choy cleaned and either kept whole or chopped
• 16oz. package of Wontons, Gyoza or dumplings
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• Extra: Chef Troy’s Crunchy Garlic Chili Sauce to drizzle on top (It’s so good).

Directions

• You will need two pots for this, one to make your soup base and one to cook your wontons/dumplings/gyoza. You want to cook them separately and you don’t want to add them to the soup until ready to serve because they get slimy.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil. While that’s happening get your veggies cleaned and ready.
• In your other pot over medium heat add your sesame oil and sauté your mushrooms to soften but not caramelize, about 2 minutes. Then add in your, ginger, carrot and white onion. Cook this lightly for just a few minutes then add the garlic and miso paste and mix. Cook for 1 more minute and then add in your chicken stock and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. I like to let it cook for about 10 minutes then give it a taste for seasoning and adjust.
• You can add in your bok choy for the last few minutes to cook. You can also cook it separately in a pan and sauté it with a little oil and some soy sauce and garlic and serve it on the side instead. Your call.
• Once the stock has been cooking for 10-15 minutes and the carrots are softened, drop your dumplings in their pot of water and cook according to their directions.
• Right before serving I personally like to add most of the cilantro and half of the green onions into the soup. I think it gives it a little more flavor. Then I use a little to garnish each bowl when I serve.
• Ladle your broth into a bowl, add in a few wontons and garnish with cilantro and green onion and give it a drizzle of that delicious garlic chili sauce.

Enjoy!