Wonton Soup

January 24, 2010 By: kristi Category: Soup, Spicy, Vegetables

Soooo…. my camera doesn’t work!! I turn it on, and the stinkin’ lens won’t open. I guess it’s a sign that we need to get a new camera. Perhaps a REALLY good camera. But for now, my iPhone will have to do…

ANYWAY… In the NE portion of the United States, we have been battling the ups and downs of indecisive weather. One moment it’s 50 degrees, the next minute we have 2 feet of snow on the ground and then it’s rainy and 35 degrees… all within a week or so! Insane. Needless to say all of this yo-yo-ing of the temperature has caused some coughing and sneezing making it absolutely essential to have some warm soup on the stove.

I randomly came across wonton wrappers at the grocery store that were on sale so I picked them up and decided to give them a go. I have never made anything with wontons before but I felt as if all the stars were aligning just as they should in order for me to make this incredibly flavorful and comforting soup: The wontons were on sale, the meat was buy one, get one free, and I got a newsletter from Hungry-Girl including a wonton soup recipe… all in the same day. It’s as if this was meant to be. And it was.

I was surprised how easy it was to make it! Typically you will find recipes that highly suggest filling and wrapping one wonton at a time because the pasta will dry out otherwise, but I honestly didn’t have that problem. I had a system and it worked for me. Maybe I’m too fast for the pasta, like a ninja or something…

Wonton Soup

Slightly Adapted from Hungry-Girl

Serves 8

Ingredients:
For Wontons:
9 oz. raw lean ground beef
2 tsp. reduced-sodium/lite soy sauce
2 tsp. dried minced onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
16 small square wonton wrappers (often stocked near the tofu in the fridge section of the market)

For Soup:
1 Tbs. canola or grapeseed oil
1-2 tsp. chopped garlic
1 cup mushrooms, stems removed, cleaned and sliced
6 cups fat-free beef broth
1 tsp. chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp. hot sauce (or if you are like my husband and I make it 1 Tbs or more!)
1/2 cup chopped scallions

Directions:

To make the wonton filling, combine all wonton ingredients except the wrappers in a medium bowl. Mix by hand until evenly combined. Set aside.

In a large pot on medium high heat, add canola/grapeseed oil. Add mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes until tender. Add garlic. Let cook for another minute. Then combine the remainder of the soup ingredients except scallions into large pot. Bring to a boil on the stove. Reduce heat to low and allow soup to simmer for 10 minutes.

Lay wonton wrappers flat on a clean, dry surface. Scoop a spoonful (about 2 tsp.) of filling into the center of each wrapper. Moisten all wrapper edges by dabbing with water.

You have two options here:

1 – Fold the bottom left corner of each wrapper to meet the top right corner, forming a triangle and enclosing the filling. Press firmly on the edges to seal. Set aside, and repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

2 – Fold All wontons into triangles, then fold all edges. See pictures above for this.

Stir scallions into the simmering soup. One at a time, carefully add wontons. Make sure they’re submerged, but don’t stir. Simmer for 5 minutes, adjusting temperature if soup begins to boil, until wonton centers are firm.

YUM.

On a related side note, I went to Chinatown with a friend and ate at a Noodlehouse. For $4 I got an ENORMOUS bowl of egg and vegetable soup. Had to take a picture of the impressive meal… maybe I’ll make this one next!