Deconstructed Wonton Soup

Wonton soup is one of my favorite dishes of all time. Delicate wontons are served in a hearty savory broth, often with leafy greens on the side. When I have time, I like to make traditional wonton soup. Or if I’m feeling extra fancy, I’ll make Cantonese wonton noodle soup with homemade chicken stock.  

But on a busy weeknight, the deconstructed wonton soup became a great solution when craving that comforting wonton soup but I don’t have time to wrap two dozen wontons. This approach takes all the essential components of the dish and presents them in a simpler yet equally satisfying format. You still get the seasoned pork filling, aromatic broth, wonton skin, and vegetables – a hearty one-bowl meal that takes a third of the time to put together.

Ingredients

Wonton wrappers

Any type of wonton wrappers will work, no matter whether they are made with wheat or with added eggs. Compared to dumpling skins, they are thinner, have a tender silky texture, and cook very quickly.  Unlike noodles, they can be added directly into your chicken soup without soaking up too much liquid and making your soup cloudy. 

If you’ve made wonton soup and have a few leftover wonton wrappers, this is also an awesome recipe to use up your wrappers.

Meatballs ingredients 

My pork meatball recipe is quite similar to my wonton filling. It uses fresh ginger and green onion for aroma, and Shaoxing wine and soy sauce for umami. Toasted sesame oil adds nuttiness and makes the filling juicy.

If you want to use another kind of ground meat, that is totally OK. Ground chicken and turkey work well here because their flavor is mild. Beef could work as well but your soup will have a stronger taste. 

My favorite way to cut baby bok choy

Baby bok choy is often cut into quarters or halves and garnished on the top of the wonton soup. But to make the cooking faster and more even, I want to introduce my favorite way to cut baby bok choy:

1. Slice off and discard the tough ends. Now you can easily remove the bigger outer leaves.
2. Cut the white part into 1/2” (1-cm) pieces and the green part into 2” (5 cm) pieces. Greens cook faster and will shrink more, so I leave those pieces bigger.
3. I leave the core intact, or sometimes cut it in half if it is large. Because the core is very tender and cooks faster.
4. Here is the most important part: soak your baby bok choy after cutting it, rinse it gently, then drain. This effectively removes any dirt sandwiched between the leaves at the base. 

This method works especially well if you purchase your baby bok choy from regular supermarkets instead of Chinese markets. Because supermarkets tend to carry baby bok choy heads that are larger in size and have thicker stems. If you happen to find very small heads of baby bok choy that are the size of your palm (usually sold in Asian markets), you can simply remove the outer leaves and cook them whole instead of slicing them up. 

Other vegetable options

Other greens such as spinach, choy sum, gai lan (Chinese broccoli), and even broccoli work well here. Zucchini also makes a great soup ingredient here.

• Spinach: Add it immediately after you add all the wonton wrappers. Cook for 1 minute.
• Choy sum: Slice the stem on a bias into 1/2” (1 cm) pieces and slice the leaves into 2” (5 cm) pieces. If you use very small heads of choy sum (choy sum tips), you might not need to cut them.
• Gai lan: Slice the stems thinly and slice the leaves into 1” (2 cm) pieces. 
• Broccoli: Slice into small bite-size pieces so they cook through quickly and have a good texture.
• Zucchini: Cut into half moon shaped pieces about 1/4” (4 mm) thick.

 Except for the spinach, you can follow the recipe below to cook the other vegetables. 

How to make

1. Heat up the chicken stock and cook the ginger for a few minutes to infuse flavor. Turn the heat so the broth is gently simmering. Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the pork mixture, then drop it directly into the soup. This is a super fast way to make all the meatballs without getting your hands dirty. 

2. Once the meatballs float to the top, cook for 1 minute. Skim and discard the foam from the surface to get a clear soup.

3. Add baby bok choy and cook for 1 minute. If you like your bok choy to have a very tender texture, cook for 2 minutes.

4. To add wonton wrappers, add one wrapper at a time to prevent sticking together. For each wrapper, I like to use a small spatula to poke the wrapper into the soup. The wrappers might stick to themselves a little and that’s fine. You want to create space to add more wrappers without letting them form a large clump. 

5. You only need to cook the wrappers for 1 minute. Then add the sesame oil and scallion before serving.

It might seem like a very short cooking time for the soup. Remember, wrapped wontons only take 3 minutes or so to cook through, and so do these small meatballs.

How to serve

Serve the soup hot. I would serve it as a light main dish for a full meal, or serve it as a soup along with rice and some main dishes.

Note, wonton wrappers are very delicate and will become softer the longer you leave them in the soup. The wrappers also release starch, which gradually thickens the soup. The soup will taste very good when it’s still warm. But this is not a dish that you can make ahead of time and reheat. Because the wonton wrappers tend to disintegrate and soak up all the soup.  

Frequently asked questions

Other hearty soup recipes

• Hot and Sour Soup (酸辣汤)
• Chinese Corn Soup with Chicken (鸡蛋玉米羹)
• Pressure Cooker Oxtail Soup (An Instant Pot Recipe)
• Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup (兰州拉面)
• Napa Cabbage Tofu Soup (白菜豆腐汤)

Deconstructed Wonton Soup

By Maggie Zhu

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

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Deconstructed wonton soup is one of my favorite weeknight dinners when I am craving comfort food but short on time. The juicy bite-size pork meatballs are cooked in chicken soup with silky wonton wrappers and tender bok choy, making a balanced and nutritious meal.

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

Filling

• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 green onion , minced
• 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Soup

• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 large slices ginger
• 10 oz (4 to 6 stalks) baby bok choy
• 20 wonton wrappers
• 2 scallions , sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

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Instructions

• Mix all the filling ingredients together in a medium bowl. Stir in a circular motion in one direction until the meat becomes sticky.
• Heat the chicken stock in a medium pot. Add the light soy sauce and ginger. Once boiling, let the broth simmer for 5 minutes.
• To cut baby bok choy, slice off and discard the end. Remove the large outer leaves. If the outer leaves are quite large and thick, further slice the white part into 1/2” pieces and the greens into 1” pieces. Halve the core. Once cut, soak the baby bok choy in cold tap water for 2 to 3 minutes. Gently rinse with your hands to remove any dirt. Then drain off the water.
• Turn to medium-low heat. Use a spoon to scoop about 1 tablespoon of the filling, then use another spoon to release the filling into the soup. (Use a cookie scoop for this step if you have one). Add meatballs until all the filling is used. Turn to medium-high heat and let the soup come to a low boil. When the meatballs have floated to the top, cook for 1 more minute. Skim and discard any foam from the top while the meatballs are cooking.
• Then add the baby bok choy. Let cook for 1 minute, or 2 minutes for a very tender texture.
• Add the wonton wrappers, one sheet at a time. Use a spatula to push the wrapper into the soup so you get more space to add more wrappers. Try to avoid letting the wrappers crowd in one spot, which causes sticking. Once all the wrappers are added, cook for 1 minute.
• Turn off the heat. Add the scallion, white pepper and sesame oil. Stir to mix well. Transfer the wonton soup into individual bowls and serve hot.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 287kcal, Carbohydrates: 28.2g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1.8g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Sodium: 1536mg, Potassium: 541mg, Fiber: 1.8g, Sugar: 2.1g, Calcium: 129mg, Iron: 3mg

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