Wonton soup

It’s been too long since I last posted a recipe here. I was out of the country and the last two days before I left, although I cooked a lot for the kids’ packed school lunches for the days that I wouldn’t be home, I was in such a rush that I wasn’t able to take photos. Pity, really, since one of the dishes I cooked was lechon macau. Next time…

Anyway, I did manage to take photos of the wonton soup that I cooked about three nights before I left.

I used to make this soup by dropping the uncooked wonton into the simmering broth. The problem is that the starch from the wonton wrappers get mixed into the broth, makes it cloudy and leaves a floury taste in the mouth. I’ve since rethought the procedure and I now steam the wontons separately and add them to the broth at the same time as the vegetables. That way, by the time the vegetables are done, the wontons would have been heated through.

Just like any soup dish, everything starts with a good broth. I used to just throw in soup bones and vegetables into a pot and simmer everything until the liquid is reduced and flavorful but there was an interesting tip in Anthony Bourdain’s bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential. He said roast the bones together with the onions, garlic and whatever vegetables you want to flavor the broth with and, after roasting, that’s when you throw them into a pot and proceed as usual.

So, I bought some soup bones, placed them on the rack, added whole onions and a whole garlic, placed the rack on a roasting pan, and browned everything in the oven.

When they were nice and brown, I transferred them to a large cooking pot, added water, salt and peppercorns and simmered everything for a couple of hours. The result was just magnificent. And once you’ve made your broth, you’re ready to cook your wonton soup.

You will need cooked dumplings (see an earlier entry), some vegetables and broth. That’s all, really. The trick is to make sure that the vegetables are not overcooked and that there aren’t too much vegetables and wontons in proportion to the broth. After all, you want to still be able to taste the broth and appreciate its flavors.

My vegetables of choice are carrots, chicharo (snow peas, snap peas) and pechay baguio. Peel the carrot(s) and slice thinly. Trim the edges and ends of the chicharo and cut in half if they are rather large. Cut the pechay baguio into 1-inch lengths.

Strain the broth. Use two layers of fine cloth if necessary to remove all impurities. Bring to a boil. Add the carrot slices first. When the broth boils again, add the wontons. Bring to a boil once more then add the chicharo and pechay baguio. When the soup reaches the boiling point once more, stir then turn off the heat.

Adjust the seasonings if you wish by adding more salt and pepper. Ladle into a soup tureen and serve at once.

In the mood for more food?

1. Tofu in oyster sauce
2. Waffles for breakfast
3. Vegetable noodles, chicken and quail eggs
4. About Pinoy Cook
5. Crispy chicken strips with sweet and sour sauce
6. Nasi goreng (fried rice)
7. Ripe and sweet Philippine mangoes
8. Sinigang ng ulo ng maya-maya (fish head in sour soup)
9. Lechon
10. Savory oven-grilled chicken

About Pinoy Cook

• About the author
• Cooking philosophy
• Food photography
• The noche buena section
• Product review policy
• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Recipe archive
• Published articles
• Food from all over
• E-mail the author

Readers

 Subscribe in a reader

Fish & seafood

• Fish fillet and vegetables in sour cream
• Tilapia fritters with honey-lemon sauce
• Chili garlic shrimps with coriander paste and Kecap Manis
• Fish fillets in white wine
• Baked tahong (mussels)
• Baked mussels with butter and cheese
• Lemon-butter-garlic prawns
• Pasta with clams in red wine sauce
• Mackerel frittata
• Baked fish and spinach

Healthy veggies

• Baked fish and spinach
• Potato salad with toasted cashew nuts
• Surreal Gourmet’s smashed potatoes
• Baked eggplants with bacon and cheese
• Fruitier vegetable salad
• Pork, okra, squash and eggplants in sour cream
• Oven-fried potato chips
• Chicken & Broccoli Pasta
• Fish fillets and togue (mung bean sprouts) stir fry
• Swiss rosti (a.k.a. fried potatoes)

Side Notes