Shrimp Wonton in Chicken & Shitake Broth (云吞汤)

I usually prepare dumplings or wontons in a large batch for easy use whenever I need them in an instant noodle soup or on their owns. You could use the following recipe to deep fried as well apart from cooking them in broth.

Wonton Preparation

• 15 fresh prawns, de-veined and de-shelled, coursely chopped
• 1 tbsp of Chinese rice wine
• 2 tbsp of corn starch
• 1 tbsp of soya sauce
• 1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
• 2 stalks of spring onions, chopped
• 1/2 thumb size of ginger, grated
• 1 pack of wonton pastry skin, thawed at least for 2 hours in room temperature
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of sugar

Good for about 30 pieces of wontons.

1. Set the chopped prawns into a mixing bowl. Add in rice vinegar, corn starch, soya sauce, sesame oil ,spring onions and grated ginger, mix into the prawns well. This would be the wonton filling.
2. Using 1 tsp, scoop out the filling and place it in the middle of the wonton skin.
3. Dab a bit of water around the edges, close in the pastry skin into a triangle, then fold in 2 sides of the triangle to the middle point to resemble the picture as shown.
4. Repeat Step 2 – Step 3 until the filling is used up.
5. Set the prepared wrapped wontons aside on a floured flat tray.

Broth Preparation (Serve 2-3)

• 4 – 5 dried shitake (or fresh), re-constituted in hot water for at least 1 hr, thereafter, drain and slice thinly
• 1 chicken cube + 600 ml of water
• 1 thumb sized ginger, sliced
• 1 tbsp of soya sauce
• a few shakes of ground white pepper to taste
• 1 clove of bashed garlic
• 1 tsp of sugar

1. Simmer the pot of water, then add in a chicken cube to dissolve into the liquid.
2. Add in ginger slices, bashed garlic and shitake into the simmering chicken soup and let it simmer through for about 3 minutes.
3. Turn the heat up until the soup is boiling, drop in about 12 wontons until they float to the surface (which means they are cooked).
4. Dish it up into a bowl, top it off with chopped spring onions and ground white pepper.
5. Consume while it is hot.

This week has been annoyingly rainy, this soup is just great to boost some warmth and comfort into the rainy summer.