The Wonton Soup--JINGJU HE

Wonton Soup (馄饨汤）

As a sort of traditional food in China, wonton  originated in North China. A wonton (also spelled wantan, wanton, or wuntun in transcription from Cantonese; Mandarin: húntun [xwə̌n.dwə̌n]) is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines。

Wonton has a long history. There existed numerous wonton restaurants in cities in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Wonton was featured by clear soup and delicate stuffing at that time. Its fineness was ever appraised by poets and was hard to achieve by common people. In ancient times, it was a custom in some regions to eat wonton on the midwinter day, which is said to has bearing on a famous doctor — Zhang Zhongjing. He ever stuffed wonton with medicinal materials on the midwinter day to cure villagers who suffered frostbite. Wonton’s function as a medicinal dish was also recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica.

• Detail of making the Wrapper

Wontons are made by spreading a square wrapper (a dough skin made of flour, egg, water, and salt)flat in the palm of one's hand, placing a small amount of filling in the center, and sealing the wonton into the desired shape by compressing the wrapper's edges together with the fingers. Adhesion may be improved by moistening the wrapper's inner edges, typically by dipping a fingertip into water and running it across the dry dough to dissolve the extra flour. As part of the sealing process, air is pressed out of the interior to avoid rupturing the wonton from internal pressure when cooked.

• Ingredients:

½ pound pork 

1 Tablespoon scallions(chopped green onion), finely chopped

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon cooking wine

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

1 Tablespoon water

2 packages wonton paper

3 cans (15 ounces each) chicken or other broth (about 6 cups)

• Procedure:

Mix ground pork , scallions, egg, salt, cooking wine, sugar, sesame oil, and water in a bowl.

Place 1 teaspoon of meat mixture in the center of a wonton skin.

Moisten the edges of wonton skin with water and fold it to form a triangle. Press the edges together to seal.

Fill and fold the rest of the wonton skins.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the wontons.

In another pot, heat the broth. (Wontons will be cooked first in the boiling water and then added to the broth.)

Add a few wontons at a time to the boiling water, giving them room to float freely. Cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the cooked wontons to hot broth. Use about 3 dozen wontons for 6 cups of broth.

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