Hawai‘i Comfort Food: Wonton Soup Recipe
Simple dumplings to top off your fresh saimin noodles.
Photo: Christi Young
Wonton Min is one of my ultimate childhood comfort soups. It is one of the first things I have ordered at Chinese restaurants in every state I’ve called home. But the one I crave most are the simple dumplings my mom taught me how to fold, floating on the top of a bowl of fresh, chewy Sun Noodle saimin noodles.
Mixing the wontons is simple but folding and boiling them take time. I place them on a parchment or waxed paper-lined baking tray and pop them in the freezer to keep the wrappers from softening, sticking and ripping when I’m ready to cook. I often toss half of the frozen wontons into a resealable bag for a quick school day dinner.
SEE ALSO: 🥔 Hawai’i Comfort Food: Baked Potato Soup Recipe
Photo: Christi Young
Pork Wontons
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds of ground pork
- 1 1/2 tablespoons shoyu
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar (optional)
- Garlic salt, to taste
- Green onions (optional)
- 2-3 packages of wonton pi (wrappers)
- 2 packages of Sun Noodle saimin
Instructions
- Mix first eight ingredients in a bowl.
- For your prep station, get a small bowl of water, chopsticks and a cutting board.
- Pull out a few wonton wrappers, keeping the rest covered so they don’t dry out. Place about a half a tablespoon of the meat filling in the center of the cutting board. Dip the chopsticks in water and line the perimeter of the wrapper with water before folding it in half so the wet edges stick together.
- Take the rectangular dumpling, dip the top corner in water, then bring the two top corners together and press until they stick.
- Place completed wonton on parchment or waxed paper-lined baking tray and continue making the rest. Keep the wontons covered with a dish towel so the wrappers do not dry out.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a gentle boil. Toss in several wontons and stir gently to keep them from sticking to the bottom.
- Once the wontons float to the surface, continue to let them cook for five minutes. Then use tongs or a mesh scoop to pull them out and place in a strainer.
- Cook fresh saimin noodles and make the soup according to directions on the package. Simmer bok choy, won bok or other leafy greens in the broth. Serve and top with wontons, kamaboko and green onions.
