Shrimp wonton soup is comforting and elegant. It’s one of my favorite things to make when I am craving a savory snack or need a dim sum appetizer to serve when hosting a dinner party.
Tender wontons filled with juicy shrimp float in a light savory broth, making every bite delicate and satisfying. Unlike traditional wontons filled with pork and shrimp, this shrimp version is lighter and slightly springy, with a natural sweetness from the shrimp. I intentionally created a simple broth, so it highlights the flavor of the wontons themselves. By using oyster sauce, soy sauce, and a touch of dried shrimp and sesame oil, I make a clean aromatic soup that tastes like it’s been simmered for hours.
I like to make a big batch of wontons on the weekend when listening to my favorite podcasts. The wontons freeze beautifully, so I can put together a quick bowl of soup whenever the craving hits. My two-year-old also loves this one a lot. When I don’t have a lot of food at home, I would prepare this dish using frozen wontons and have his meal ready in 10 minutes.
Ingredients
I divide the ingredients in two groups: the ingredients for the wontons and the rest for the soup.
Wonton ingredients
I used light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, white pepper, ginger, scallion white and salt to season the shrimp to bring out its natural flavor. Egg white and cornstarch both work as binders and keep the filling tender and juicy. I also like to add a small amount of grated carrot, to enhance the natural sweetness of the shrimp.
You can use any type of wonton wrapper for this recipe. I used the Twin Marquis Extra Thin Wonton Wrapper when I made them. These wrappers are relatively large so I can pack in a bigger filling, and the texture is thin, which works well with the mild shrimp filling.
Soup ingredients
I used oyster sauce and light soy sauce with a cup of wonton boiling water to create a base that is savory and slightly sweet. I also like to use a small pinch of papery shrimp to add umami that tastes like sea, although you can skip it if you don’t have any on hand. A small amount of toasted sesame oil and scallion greens add nuttiness and fragrance.
For a simple bowl of shrimp wonton soup, I don’t always add vegetables. But if I’m hosting, I like to garnish my bowl with some blanched choy sum for a pop of color.
What Are Papery Shrimp?
Papery shrimp, or Xia Pi (虾皮), are very small shrimp that have been salted and dried. They are commonly used in Chinese cooking to add a subtle seafoody umami to soups, stir fries, and vegetable dishes.
In shrimp wonton soup, a small pinch of papery shrimp adds a gentle taste of the ocean to the broth without making it heavy.
If you don’t have papery shrimp, you can simply omit them. The soup will still taste delicious thanks to the oyster sauce and soy sauce.
How to make
1. Mince the shrimp: I prefer to mince it by hand until it is slightly sticky and bouncy, but still has some texture. You have more control over texture if mincing by hand. Alternatively, you can also do this step with a food processor.
2. Mix the shrimp with seasonings: Mix the shrimp with egg white, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, white pepper, ginger, salt and cornstarch until sticky. Add the carrot and scallion white. Mix again.
3. Wrap the wonton: There are many ways to wrap wonton and you can watch my video on the 4 ways to wrap wontons. In this recipe, I wrapped them this way.
Place 1 teaspoon filling in the center of the wonton wrapper.
Wet the edges and fold it into a triangle, seal the edges.
Bend the two ends downwards.
Overlap both ends and pinch to seal them. Wet the edge with a bit more water if needed.
Important note: Make sure to use some wet paper towels to cover up the wrappers to prevent them from drying out. Once they’ve dried out, it’s very hard to wrap them into wontons. Once you wrap the wontons, also cover them with a wet paper towel or plastic wrap.
4. Make the soup base: Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and dried shrimp into each individual serving bowl.
5. Cook the wontons: Add the wontons into boiling water and gently stir to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. Once the wontons float on top, cook for another 2 minutes. Only cook the wontons you plan to serve, and store the uncooked wontons in the freezer.
6. Assemble: Add 1 cup of the wonton boiling water to each individual bowl and mix. Add 5 to 6 wontons into each bowl. Drizzle with sesame oil and add scallion greens for garnish. Serve immediately.
How to Store Wontons
One of the best things about making wontons is that they freeze extremely well.
To freeze:
- Arrange freshly wrapped wontons on a tray so they don’t touch.
- Seal the tray with a lid or plastic wrap, to prevent drying out. Freeze until solid.
- Transfer to a freezer bag.
Cook frozen wontons directly without thawing. Just add an extra minute or two to the cooking time.
How to serve
I like to cook up the wontons and assemble a bowl of comforting soup whenever I need a light lunch or savory snack. I also serve it as an appetizer when hosting dinner parties.
You can also pair it with other main dishes and vegetables dishes to make a full dinner. Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce, Cantonese Steamed Chicken, and Vegetable Lo Main pair very well with this one.
If you like wonton soup, also check out my Watercress Wonton Soup and Cantonese Wonton Noodle Soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make shrimp wontons ahead of time?
Yes. You can wrap the wontons several hours ahead of time and keep them refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap or a damp towel so the wrappers don’t dry out. But bear in mind, the outer wonton skin will slowly dry out, and the filling will start to release moisture and make the inside of the skin soggy. This will result in wontons falling apart during cooking. For longer storage, freezing the wontons is the best option.
Can I use chicken broth instead of wonton cooking water?
Yes. Many restaurant-style wonton soups use a clear homemade chicken stock. You can refer to my Cantonese Wonton Noodle Soup for the chicken soup base.
However, using the wonton cooking water is a classic home cooking method because the starch from the wrappers slightly thickens the soup and creates a silky texture.
How do I know when wontons are cooked?
Wontons are done when they float to the surface of the boiling water and the wrappers become slightly translucent. For these shrimp wontons, continue cooking about 2 minutes after they float to ensure the filling is fully cooked.
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Shrimp Wonton Soup (鲜虾云吞)
Ingredients
Wontons
- 10 oz shrimp , peeled and deveined
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ginger , grated
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 small carrot
- 1 scallion white , thinly sliced
- 1 pack wonton wrappers , thawed if using frozen (*Footnote 1)
Soup
- 4 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 4 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons papery shrimp (Optional)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 scallion green , sliced (for garnish)
Instructions
- Prepare the filling: Chop shrimp into very small pieces, then mince until it forms a coarse paste. Add egg white, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, white pepper, ginger, salt and cornstarch. Mix until it forms a sticky paste.
- Use a fine cheese grater to grate the carrot, until you get a loosely packed 1/4 cup. You can also julienne the carrot then mince it if you don’t have a grater. Add the carrot and scallion white to the shrimp and mix well.
- Wrap the wontons: Work on the wontons one at a time. Wet the edges of the wrapper. Place about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper into a triangle, then press the edges tightly to seal the filling. Bind both ends and press them together to lock the filling inside the wrapper (See the pictures in my blog post above). Place the wrapped wontons onto a prepared tray, a finger’s width apart. (Now you can store the wontons if not used immediately. See blog post above 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.
- Prepare the soup base: Divide the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and papery shrimp into four medium soup bowls.
- Cook the wontons: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the wontons in two batches if you plan to use them all. Or only cook the number you plan to serve. When the big pot of water comes to a boil, add half of the wontons. Stir gently and consistently with a spatula to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. Cook until the wontons are floating on top, then continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
- Assemble the wonton bowls: Transfer 5 or 6 wontons into each of the prepared serving bowls. Add 1 cup wonton boiling water into each bowl and stir to mix well. Drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with scallion greens. Serve hot.
Notes
- I used extra thin wonton wrappers in this recipe, because it allows you to pack in a good amount of filling and the wrappers are thin. If you use smaller wonton wrappers (usually Japanese wonton wrappers are smaller and thinner), you will need to adjust the filling (1 teaspoon or less) and cook it a little less time (1 minute after the wontons float to the top). If using smaller wrappers, I would only fold the wontons into triangles without the final fold (pinching the two ends together), so you can wrap in more filling per wonton.
- This recipe makes about 30 wontons. If using smaller wrappers, you might make up to 40 smaller wontons. For wontons of this size, I usually serve 5 to 6 wontons as an appetizer. For a main dish, serve 8 to 10 wontons per serving, or add some noodles to make it a meal. For a bigger bowl, you will also want to double the sauce and use 2 cups of wonton cooking water for each bowl.
Nutrition
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