广式云吞面

Wonton noodle soup is the luxury comfort food I have missed most since moving to the US. Walk down any street in central Hong Kong and you will find a small diner serving it on practically every block, a hot bowl of handmade wontons and noodles swimming in an aromatic broth that has been simmering for hours, all for a few dollars. This dish is more of a project than a weeknight stir fry, but the result is so rewarding that it earns its place next to the other recipes I treasure in my collection of authentic Chinese soup recipes.

I first published this recipe 9 years ago, and I have been refining it ever since. It was one of the dishes my Cantonese postpartum nanny made for me, and I learned a tremendous amount from her about how Cantonese cooks treat soup. She showed me that the broth is not a backdrop for the wontons, it is the star, and that everything else in the bowl, the wontons, the noodles, the greens, should support the broth instead of competing with it. The version I share here is the one I am finally proud of, after years of small adjustments.

To keep it simple, my recipe walks you through three stages, the wonton filling and wrapping, the stock and aromatics, and the final assembly in the bowl. The wonton filling uses just enough seasoning to bring out the pork and shrimp without covering them up, and an egg white gives it a silky texture once cooked. The stock is the real workhorse of the dish and I promise it is so worth the time it takes to make. I highly recommend giving this recipe a try.

Wonton Noodle Soup (广式云吞面)

Ingredients

These are the ingredients I use to make this delicious Wonton Noodle Soup recipe at home:

Noodles

Thin, wavy, yellow egg noodles, often sold in small bundles tied in a knot. The package is usually labeled wonton noodles or Hong Kong style noodles, and you will find them in the refrigerator or freezer section at an Asian market. They cook fast, in about 30 seconds in boiling water, and they have a chewy springy texture.

Wonton noodles in package

Wrappers

Look for yellow wonton wrappers, sometimes labeled Hong Kong style wonton wrappers and sometimes just wonton skins. The yellow color comes from egg in the dough and it gives the finished wonton the slightly chewy bite you want for noodle soup. White wonton wrappers work too, but the yellow ones are the authentic choice.

Wonton skin

Chicken stock

There is no store-bought chicken stock that comes close to matching homemade chicken stock. Chinese chicken stock is made with chicken bones and meat to create a rich texture full of gelatin. It is thicker than store-bought stock and will coat the noodles, creating a much nicer mouthfeel. It is also made with simple aromatics without any vegetables to add a sweet taste, which is desirable in wonton noodle soup. Once you have the homemade stock, all you need is a pinch of salt with some ginger and scallion for the best wonton soup. 

If you don’t want to make the stock from scratch, Better-Than-Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base is your next best bet. It tastes richer than regular chicken bouillon powder, and it has a neutral flavor unlike the chicken stock that comes in a carton. You can also use slightly more bouillon base than the package calls for, to create a richer soup.

Soup aromatics and seasoning

Sea salt to taste, a few slices of ginger, and the white parts of green onions go into the stock pot to lift the broth before serving. The aromatics are removed before the soup is poured into the bowls, so the broth stays clear.

Toppings

Choy sum or baby bok choy blanched in the same pot as the noodles, the green parts of the green onions sliced thin, and fried shallots for a crispy aromatic finish.

How to Make

1. Mix the wonton filling: In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, chopped shrimp, light soy sauce, sesame oil, egg white, minced ginger, salt, sugar, and white pepper. Stir with a spatula in a circular motion until the filling forms a sticky paste.

The ingredients for wonton filling

2. Prep the wrapping station: Set a large tray on the counter and spray it with a thin layer of oil or sprinkle a little flour over it so the wontons do not stick. Cover the stack of wonton wrappers with a clean damp kitchen towel and have a second damp towel ready to cover the wrapped wontons as you go.

3. Wrap the wontons: Make a loose fist and lay a wonton wrapper across your thumb and index finger. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center. Slowly close your thumb and index finger so the wrapper gathers around the filling, using a small spoon to push the filling down. Pinch the wrapper right above the filling so it seals tightly into a little purse shape. Place the wonton on the prepared tray, leaving a finger width of space between each one, and cover the tray with the second damp towel as you go. Keep wrapping until all the filling is used up.

How to wrap wonton step by step

4. Bring two pots to a boil: Fill a large pot with about a gallon of water and bring it to a rolling boil for the noodles and wontons. In a separate medium pot, combine the chicken stock, salt, ginger slices, and the white parts of the green onions. Bring the stock to a low simmer, then cover and turn the heat to its lowest setting so the broth stays hot while you cook the rest.

Heating chicken stock

5. Cook the noodles: Set out four large serving bowls. Drop the wonton noodles into the boiling water and cook them according to the package instructions, usually about 30 seconds for fresh and a minute for frozen. Lift the noodles out with a spider or tongs, divide them between the 4 bowls, and keep the pot boiling for the next step.

6. Cook the wontons in two batches: Once the water comes back to a boil, drop in half the wontons. Stir with a spatula in slow circles so they do not stick to the bottom. Cook until the wontons float, then keep cooking for another minute so the pork and shrimp inside are fully cooked. Lift them out and divide between the bowls on top of the noodles. Repeat with the second batch.

Boiling wontons

7. Blanch the greens: Drop the choy sum or baby bok choy into the same pot of water and blanch for about a minute, just until the stems turn bright green and the leaves are tender. Lift them out and arrange them on top of the wontons in each bowl.

8. Pour and finish: Lift out the ginger and green onion whites from the stock pot. Ladle 2 cups of hot chicken stock into each serving bowl. Sprinkle the green parts of the green onion and a spoonful of fried shallots

A bowl of wonton noodle soup

My Cooking Tips

Stir the filling in one direction until it is sticky: Mixing the pork and shrimp filling in one direction is what builds the protein structure that gives the wontons their bouncy juicy texture. Stop too early and the filling stays loose and falls apart in the broth. I keep stirring until the filling pulls away from the side of the bowl in one mass and looks tacky on the spatula.

Chop the shrimp, do not puree: The wonton filling should have visible pieces of shrimp inside, not a smooth pink paste. I chop the shrimp into rough pieces about the size of a pea so every wonton has a clear bite against the softer pork.

Keep wrappers and wontons covered as you work: Wonton wrappers dry out fast and a dry edge will not seal. I cover both the stack of unused wrappers and the tray of wrapped wontons with damp towels and take one wrapper out at a time. If a wrapper does crack at the edge, I dab a little water on the seam to seal it.

Freeze extra wontons on the tray before bagging: If I am making a bigger batch than I plan to serve, I freeze the extra uncooked wontons on the tray first, spaced apart so they do not touch, and once they are solid I transfer them to a ziplock bag. They will stick together in the bag otherwise. Frozen wontons cook the same way as fresh, just drop them straight from the freezer into boiling water.

Taste the broth before serving: The stock is the heart of this dish and a thin broth makes the whole bowl underwhelming. I always taste the simmering stock right before pouring it into the bowls and add a pinch more salt if needed.

Hong Kong wonton noodle soup served with choy sum

Serving Suggestions 

At home I treat this as a one bowl meal, the way it is served at the small diners in Hong Kong. The wontons, noodles, broth, and greens all go into the same deep bowl, with a small porcelain spoon for the soup and chopsticks for the noodles. I let the bowl rest in front of me for a minute before the first sip so the steam brings up the chicken stock fragrance, and I usually start with the broth before I touch the noodles or the wontons, the way my Cantonese nanny taught me to slow down with a bowl of noodle soup.

When friends come over for a Cantonese dinner I build the table around this bowl. I put the wonton noodle soup at the center, add a plate of Cantonese char siu or the easier air fryer char siu pork for a sweet roasted protein, Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce for a delicious green dish, choy sum with garlic sauce when I want a second green, and a basket of Cantonese shumai for a dim sum touch. 

Frequently Ask Questions

Can I cook the wontons and noodles in the same pot as the broth?

No, and this is something I am strict about. The chicken stock is the centerpiece of the dish and it has to stay clear and clean. Cooking the noodles in the stock would release starch and cloud the broth, and cooking the wontons in the stock would release bits of filling and turn the broth muddy. I always cook the noodles and wontons in a separate pot of plain water and ladle the clear hot stock over them in the serving bowl at the very end.

My wontons keep splitting open in the broth, what am I doing wrong?

Three things usually cause this in my experience. The filling was not stirred long enough so it did not bind into a sticky paste, and a loose filling pushes the wrapper apart as it cooks. The wrapper edge was dry and did not seal, so the wonton opens at the seam. Or the boiling water was at too hard a boil and the rolling motion tore the wontons. The fix is a longer stir until the filling looks tacky, damp wrappers as you work, and a moderate boil with a spatula stir instead of a hard rolling boil.

How long do leftover wontons and broth keep?

The broth keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, and it actually tastes better the next day. The assembled bowl does not hold well, because the noodles absorb the broth and turn soft and the wontons lose their silky texture as they sit. The best way to handle leftovers is to store everything separately, the broth in one container and the cooked wontons in another, and assemble a fresh bowl when you want to eat. Uncooked wontons freeze great up to 3 months, and I always make a bigger batch and freeze the extras because this is one of my favorite comfort foods to keep on hand.

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An authentic tasting Cantonese wonton noodle soup with juicy pork and shrimp wontons, thin chewy Hong Kong noodles, and fragrant homemade chicken stock. Follow this recipe and you’ll create a dish that tastes even better than the restaurant version.

Wonton Noodle Soup (广式云吞面)

By Maggie Zhu
5 from 10 votes
Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
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My Cantonese wonton noodle soup combines juicy pork and shrimp wontons, thin and chewy Hong Kong noodles, and a fragrant homemade chicken stock. With this recipe, you will end up with a bowl that tastes better than the wonton noodle soup served at most restaurants.

Ingredients 

Wonton Filling

  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 4 oz raw peeled and deveined shrimp , chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 teaspoons ginger , finely minced
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Soup

  • 1 pack Hong Kong style wonton noodles
  • 8 cups homemade chicken stock (Footnote 1)
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt (or to taste)
  • 4 green onions white part, sliced
  • 1 ” ginger , large sliced

Topping options

  • green onion greens for garnish , sliced
  • 8 heads choy sum (or baby bok choy)
  • Fried shallots

Instructions

Prepare the wontons

  • Prepare wonton filling: In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the wonton filling. Mix well with a spatula in a circular motion until it forms a sticky paste.
  • Prepare a large tray or a plate. Spray a thin layer of oil or sprinkle some flour onto it to prevent sticking.
  • Wrap the wontons: Work on the wontons one at a time. Make a loose fist with one hand and place a wonton wrapper over your thumb and index finger. Place about a teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Slowly close your thumb and index finger to gather the wrapper while using a small spoon to push down the filling, until the wrapper comes together. Pinch the wrapper right above the filling so it seals tightly. (See the blog post above for the detailed wrapping steps in the pictures). Place the wrapped wontons onto the prepared tray, a finger’s width apart. (Now you can store the wontons if not used immediately. See footnote 2 for storage tips)
  • Make sure to use a wet paper towel or clean wet kitchen towel to cover the wonton wrappers and the wrapped wontons, to prevent them from drying out.

Assemble the wonton noodle soup (Footnote 3)

  • Prepare a big pot for cooking the wontons and noodles. Add about 1 gallon (4 liters) of water and bring it to a boil.
  • Add homemade chicken stock, salt, ginger and green onion (white part) to another medium-sized pot. Heat over medium heat until simmering. Then cover and turn to lowest heat to keep warm while cooking the wontons and noodles. Taste the soup. It should be slightly salty. You can always adjust the seasoning by adding more salt later.
  • Prepare 4 large bowls. Add noodles into the large pot with the boiling water. Cook according to package instructions. Once done, divide noodles into 4 equal portions and transfer into each serving bowl.
  • Cook the wontons in two batches if you plan to use them all. When the big pot of water comes to a boil again, add half of the wontons into the large pot. Stir gently with a spatula constantly to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. Cook until the wontons are floating on top, then continue cooking for another minute. Transfer the wontons into each of the serving bowls.
  • Pour 2 cups of hot chicken soup into each serving bowl.
  • (Optional) Blanch the greens in the large pot. Transfer onto the wonton bowls to garnish. Garnish with a spoonful of fried shallot and a pinch of green onions. Serve hot and enjoy!

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

  1. There is no real alternative for homemade chicken stock for this recipe, to create the most authentic tasting wonton noodle soup. If you do not want to make chicken stock, you can use 8 cups of water and add better-than-bouillon roasted chicken base. Add enough so the soup tastes good by itself. It’s not the same but it creates a nice enough soup.
  2. Store the uncooked wontons: If you are not going to cook and serve the wontons immediately, store them in the fridge for a day, or freeze them for up to three months. Seal the tray of wontons with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. When the wontons are completely frozen, you can transfer them to an airtight ziplock bag to free up freezer space.
  3. You should only prepare the amount of wonton noodle soup you plan to serve. For each bowl, you will use 1 bundle of wonton noodles, 8 to 10 wontons (or less, depending on how hungry you are), and 2 cups of homemade chicken stock.
  4. Cook frozen wontons – The method is the same as if you were boiling fresh wontons.
  5. Serving size: This recipe yields 4 big servings of wonton noodle soup, with 8 to 10 wontons per bowl. You can also make 6 smaller servings.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 454kcal, Carbohydrates: 52.2g, Protein: 41.2g, Fat: 7.5g, Saturated Fat: 1.6g, Cholesterol: 209mg, Sodium: 849mg, Potassium: 700mg, Fiber: 2.1g, Sugar: 2.9g, Calcium: 77mg, Iron: 2mg

Did you make this recipe?

I’d love to hear how it turned out for you! Please take a moment to leave a 5-star rating ⭐️ and share your thoughts in the comments further down the page. It really helps others discover the recipe too.

The recipe was published on Mar, 21 2016 and updated on June 09, 2026.