Shanghai-style Vegetable and Pork Wonton Soup (菜肉馄饨)

Shanghai-style Vegetable and Pork Wonton Soup (菜肉馄饨 cài ròu hún tūn) is typical breakfast food in Shanghai. The soul-warming wontons were the best to start my winter day during my childhood. My parents could make everything from scratch within an hour. They could make a single wonton in a few seconds, while I spent minutes pleating one wonton. Making wonton was our regular family activity at that time.

Nowadays, the Shanghainese do not make wontons at home regularly because many restaurants or supermarkets sell fresh or frozen wontons. But as I live in Germany, homemade wontons are the only choice to comfort my stomach. Wontons can be varied in their fillings. But the filling used in this recipe is still the soul-warming version for me.

The main ingredients are the wrappers, minced pork meat, Shanghai green vegetable (bok choy), and chicken broth.

Wrappers

Some wrappers are thicker than others. I use the thicker type for this recipe. The thin type is suitable for the mini wontons, whose fillings are only the minced meat and less in amount. The wrappers have a yellowish colour. You can find frozen square-sized wrappers in many Asian shops

Minced pork meat

The ready-make minced meat from the supermarket is suitable for this recipe. 

Chicken broth

Wontons are served in tasty broth freshly made from chicken or pork ribs. The two things, the wrappers and the broth set the Shanghai wonton soup apart from all the other dumpling soups.

I always use self-made chicken broth, which is the best for the wonton soup. But for a quick solution, you can use the ready-made chicken broth. 

Shanghai green vegetable (bok choy)

I pick those green vegetables in a mini size because they are tender and sweeter. 

How to make Shanghai-style Vegetable and Pork Wonton Soup

Wontons

Place the bok choy in the boiling water for about two minutes. I prefer to my green vegetables blanched to remove the fibrous nature of them or to soften them if the vegetables are particularly hard. In this case, I use the method to soften the white parts of the bok choy since them are too hard for the fillings.

After blanching, chop the vegetable roughly. Use a cheesecloth to squeeze as much of the water out as possible. Mix the vegetable with minced meat and all filling ingredients and blend all ingredients into a complete paste. 

Lay one wonton wrap on the work surface. Put two teaspoons of the filling on the wonton wrap. Fold the wrapper up and brush water on one corner to bring both corners together. Press the corners hard to seal completely. Place wrapped wontons onto a plate and cover with a piece of wet kitchen paper to prevent drying out. 

YouTube has different ways of pleating the wontons. After a few times of trying, you will be okay to pleat.

Chicken broth

In a large pot, heat plenty of water until it is heavily boiling. Blanch the chicken in the boiling water for one minute. Usually, you will see small bits of congealed blood or white foam floating on top. Remove the impurities and drain. 

Add fresh water to the pot so that the chicken is fully submerged. Then add ginger and Chinese cooking wine into the soup pot. Bring the water to a boil, turn down the heat to the lowest setting and let the broth simmer. Cover the pot and cook until the chicken meats are fall-off-the-bone tender. 

Cooking the wonton soup

Boil a large pot of water seasoned with salt. Place wontons in the pot carefully. Do not overcrowd the pot. I cook the 60 wontons in two batches. 

When wontons float, pour about a cup of cold tap water into the pot and bring it to a boil again. This step ensures the fillings are not raw.

Tips for the recipe

Sometimes, I run out of the fillings, while other times, I have fillings left. To avoid such a situation, I work in batches. I divided 60 wrappers used for this recipe into three batches and then use a kitchen scale to divide the filling into three batches. Afterward, I work on one batch and evenly distribute the filling to all 20 wrappers. 

Raw green vegetable in the filling gives a slightly grassy flavour. But pre-cooking the green vegetable makes the final filling taste better. You can saute the vegetable before mixing it with the filling ingredients.

Did you make the recipe?

You can save the recipe or pin it for future cooking. I’d love to know how it turned out for you! Please let me know by leaving a review below and tag @cuisinereinvented on Instagram and hashtag it #cuisinereinvented.