Wonton Noodle Soup

This recipe was submitted by Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen. Jaden dishes up the following advice for this popular Chinese one-dish meal: "Get your kids in the kitchen and have them help you fold wontons. Freeze uncooked wontons: Freeze in one layer on plate, when frozen gather them up and store in freezer bag and plop them into boiling broth while still frozen to make a super-quick meal." See a video of Jaden preparing the wontons for this recipe.

Ingredients

1. 1/2 pound ground pork
2. 2 stalks scallion, finely minced
3. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
4. 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
5. 1 teaspoon cornstarch
6. 1/4 teaspoon sugar
7. 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
8. 1/2 pound wonton wrappers, at room temperature, covered with a damp towel
9. 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cool water (this makes a cornstarch slurry)
10. 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
11. 8 ounces dried wonton noodles (or thin, egg noodles)
12. 1/2 pound bok choy, leaves separated and washed well
13. 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Serves 4. $2.98 per serving*

Method

Note on wonton wrappers: If using frozen wrappers, defrost overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for 40 minutes. Once thawed, keep opened wrappers under a damp paper towel. Like freshly made pasta dough, they dry out easily, especially the edges.

In a large bowl, combine the pork, scallion, soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch, sugar and sesame oil. Mix well.

Put a scant teaspoon of filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper, and brush cornstarch slurry on all edges. Fold over to form a triangle, press to secure edges, encasing the filling. Brush cornstarch slurry on one tip of the triangle. Bring two corners together and press to secure (though my kids often just leave them as triangles.) Place on clean, dry plate in one layer and cover loosely with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Repeat with remaining.

In a large stockpot, add all but 2 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. The 2 cups of reserved broth should be room temperature or just slightly chilled. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the wontons. Bring pot back to a gentle boil.

When it reaches a boil, add 1 cup of the reserved broth. Bring back to a boil and again, add the remaining 1 cup of reserved broth.

Keep the heat on the pot on (you still need to cook the noodles and bok choy) while using a spider or sieve to scoop up the wontons and distribute amongst the bowls. Cook the noodles in the pot according to the package instructions. Add the bok choy to the pot during last minute of cooking noodles and let simmer, until cooked through. Ladle broth, noodles and bok choy to bowls. Serve with chili garlic sauce if desired.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 25oz/713g-wt.): 580 calories (170 from fat), 19g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 105mg cholesterol, 1040mg sodium, 78g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 5g sugar), 27g protein

Dairy-free

* We make a good effort to estimate the cost of ingredients used in each recipe, but small regional and market variations may occur.