Won Ton Soup

It occurred to me when I was on vacation last month, far from home and very far from my cookbooks, that I really have to make more of an effort to regularly update this site. My family and I were visiting relatives in Wisconsin. In the middle of winter. In negative degree weather. Being from California, I have never experienced weather as cold before. Not even when I’ve been snowboarding—those types of days are considered warm for the Midwest this time of year! While out there, comfort food is what I craved. For me, my comfort food is Won Ton Soup. Oh, how I wished I had my recipe with. I spent quite a bit of time trying to remember the recipe. That’s when I realized I wouldn’t be in this situation if I had kept this site updated. I could've easily brought back a little warmth to my fingertips by heading to this site with a few mouse clicks. In the end, I managed to remember the basic ingredients and made the Won Ton soup. It wasn't perfect, but it was tasty and provided the warmth and comfort I needed on those minus degree days. So, here is my recipe—so that it will always be at my fingertips no matter how far or how cold I am.

Won Ton Soup

Filling:
1 lb. Ground Pork
½ lb. Shrimp
2-3 pieces Dried Shitake Mushroom
2 Tbs. Cornstarch
2 Tbs. Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
1 Tbs. Sesame Oil
1 Egg
2 Tbs. Chopped Green Onion

1-2 pkgs. Won Ton Wrappers
4-6 Cans Chicken Broth
Egg Noodles (optional)

1) Soak the mushrooms in warm water for 15 minutes. When soft, chop up the mushrooms.

2) De-shell and de-vein the shrimp and cut into pieces.

3) Mix filling ingredients together, starting from the ground pork and ending at the chopped green onion.

4) Hold the wonton wrapper so that it looks like a diamond. Take about a tablespoon of the filling and put it in the center of a wonton wrapper. Wet two adjacent edges of the wrapper with water- the sides above where you put the filling. Bring the bottom corner of the wrapper to the top corner- it will look like you're making a triangle. Just touch the tips together, do not allow the sides to come into contact or else they will stick together. Bring the right and left corners up to the triangle tip. Gently press the wonton close. It will look like a little dumpling. You want to make sure the filling is completely enclosed in the wrapper. This isn't easy and will take some practice. Luckily, there is a lot of filling and wrappers to practice on. In the end, you will be an expert at preparing wontons! (Most wonton wrapper packages will come with wrapping instructions and diagrams). Continue making wontons until ingredients are used up (will make about 60 wontons). Extra filling or wrappers can be frozen for next time.

5) Bring 4 cans of chicken broth to a boil. Add wontons to the broth—about 10 to 15 at a time depending on the size of your pot.

6) When wontons float to the surface, cook for an additional 5 minutes.

7) Remove the wontons from the broth and cook up more wontons if desired. You may need to add more chicken broth to the pot. Remaining wontons can be frozen and prepared next time. To freeze, line wontons on a cookie sheet and freeze for 15-30 minutes. Once partially frozen, they can be placed in a ziploc. They have to be frozen individually or else they will stick to one another. Prepare frozen wontons the same way, no defrosting is necessary.

8) Once wontons are finished, prepare egg noodles by boiling for about 5 minutes in the chicken broth.

9)Serve wontons with noodles and broth.

*Wontons can also be fried in oil to make fried wontons. Instead of cooking the wontons in chicken broth, simply fry them in oil. Makes a delicious appetizer.

**Wonton filling can also be used to make potstickers.