Pork & Prawn Wontons with Soup

Have you ever swallowed a cloud? If you have eaten dumplings before you have! “Wonton” originates in the Cantonese language whereby won (wàhn) means cloud and ton (tān) means swallow. The dumplings are said to float in the bowl of broth as puffy soft clouds float in the sky. So go ahead and won-ton! Literal yet poetic at the same time. 

My cloud creations are soft and tender. The pork mince has rich and fatty undertones which offsets the bright freshness of prawns and sweet scallions so it’s really a perfect balance. This recipe is so tasty it could easily be the best you’ve ever tried. Sometimes even authentic restaurants can disappoint so why not make your own. It’s simple, you know exactly what’s inside and the taste is so worth it.

For these dumplings you need to buy the yellow wrappers that contain egg which is what gives them their colour. Drape the wrapper over your hand and in the gap in between your thumb and finger put a spoon of mixture. Dab water around the edges of the pastry then fold it diagonally pushing the mixture into the hollow of your hand. It should scrunch around the filling closing it off like a cute little money bag. Dip your spoon in water in between making each dumpling so the mixture doesn’t stick. See the video for a visual explanation.

How to cook

Wontons are cooked when they are floating. It is good to boil them in water which removes the starch but serve them in broth. Another handy trick is you can microwave or stir-fry a tiny portion of your mixture to check if it’s seasoned well. If you have plenty and would like to freeze them it is best to freeze them in a lined tray and then transfer them to a bag for storage. When you cook them from frozen they will take an extra 1-2 min longer. 

“Man-man sic la”

How to serve

you can serve your wontons with just the chicken soup or you can add the fresh egg noodles, baby bok choy and chilli crisp for a complete meal.

1. Heat the chicken soup
2. Cook the bok choy in boiling water for a few minutes with a tablespoon of olive oil to help preserve the colour.
3. Cook the egg noodles in boiling water as per packet instructions.
4. Cook the wontons in boiling water for 3-4 minutes.
5. Assemble in individual bowls, noodles first, then wontons and bok choy. Then pour the soup on top, garnish with chopped green shallots and sesame oil. Chilli crisp served on the side. 

Pork and Prawn wontons with soup

Soft and tender wontons. The pork mince has rich and fatty undertones which offsets the bright freshness of prawns.

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Serves 6 People

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time4 minutes mins

Equipment

• 4L cooking pot

Ingredients

• 1 Pack Cantonese wonton thin egg wrappers (this recipe makes 40 wontons – thin wrappers come in 60 pieces, make this recipe times 1.5 to use up all the wrappers)
• 300 grams green peeled Deveined prawns
• 300 grams pork mince
• 3/4 cup long green shallots finely sliced Scallions
• 1 Tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon chicken powder
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon shao xing wine

Chicken Soup

• 1 litre chicken stock liquid (bought or homemade)
• 1 teaspoon Chinese chicken bouillon
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 slice ginger
• 1 onion
• 2 green shallots

Instructions

Wonton Mix

• Remove tail from the prawns. Cut into fingernail size pieces 1-1.5cm size
• Add prawns and pork mince to a large mixing bowl, add all the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Rest your mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes so the meat will marinate and absorb the flavour.
• Get a small bowl of water ready for folding your wontons. Take 1 teaspoon of mixture and place in the center of the wrapper, dab a little water along the edge with your finger, fold the wrapper down diagonally in a triangle bunching the edges together. See Photo
• Bring 3L of water to the boil, gently lower the wontons into the boiling water cooking the wontons for 3-4 minutes.
• Wontons are cooked when they are floating. Cut one open to check the pork mince is cooked.
• Serve and enjoy!

Chicken Soup

• Put all ingredients in a pot and simmer for 30 minutes.

Notes

Tips-

1. Microwave a small piece of filling to check the seasoning
When folding wontons, in between each wonton rest your teaspoon in a cup of water, a wet spoon ensures the mix doesn’t stick to the spoon.

2. Freeze your dumplings on a lined tray and freezer for 20minutes before moving them into a zip lock bag or container for storage.
When cooking from frozen cook for an extra 1-2min

 

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If you loved this recipe – Check out our Pork & Prawn wonton recipe, we highly recommend!