Wonton soup with pork and shrimp wonton soup served in a hearty chicken soup

A bowl of wonton soup is so hearty that I can eat one at any time of day and in any season of the year. Even though the dish looks intimidating to make, it is surprisingly easy once you try it out.

There are many ways to prepare wonton filling and soup. For example, you make chicken wonton soup, beef wonton soup, watercress wonton, or add noodles into the soup to make Cantonese-style wonton noodle soup. You can even use hot sauce as a base to make Sichuan-style spicy wontons.

In this post, I want to introduce the most basic and classic version – it uses ground pork, shrimp, ginger, green onion, soy sauce, and a drizzle of sesame oil to make a rich and flavorful filling that tastes so, so good. This is how we Northerners make wontons. We like to add plenty of aromatics and seasonings to make the filling very rich, so the wontons taste great, even by themselves.

Homemade wonton soup (Chinese restaurant-style)

How to make wonton soup

1. Prepare the filling (with and without a food processor)

In a Chinese kitchen, home cooks always hand-chop all the ingredients. This is because most Chinese families do not own a food processor. Plus, many people enjoy the texture that is made by hand chopping.

If you want to make the prep easier, you can totally use a food processor or a blender to mix the filling. In this case, you can simply slice the ginger and green onion into coarse pieces. Add all the filling ingredients except the shrimp into a food processor. Process until it forms a silky paste. Then add the shrimp and blend until the shrimp are finely chopped, but do not turn into a paste.

Wrapped wontons before cooking

2. Wrap the wontons

The simplest way is to roll up the filling in a wrapper and press both loose ends together to lock in the filling

There’s a good chance that the wrapper will not be sticky enough and you’ll have trouble pressing the ends together. To solve this problem, you can brush some water onto the edges of the wrapper with your finger, so the wrapper will stay together while cooking.

Here is a short video I made to show you four ways to wrap wontons.

3. Prepare soup base

I introduced two types of wonton broth in the recipe below.

My old wonton soup recipe (published May 26th, 2014) introduced a traditional Chinese street vendor style soup base. It uses papery dried shrimp, dried seaweed, a bit of chicken bouillon, some soy sauce, and a touch of sesame oil to turn the wonton boiling water into a simple and tasty soup that’s full of umami.

However, after moving to the US, I did find it more difficult to find the ingredients to make the Northern-style soup. That’s why I added another chicken-broth-based soup base with easy ingredients that you can get in most grocery stores.

Wonton soup ingredients

4. Put everything together

Once you’ve wrapped the wontons and made the soup, all you need to do is boil the wontons and assemble the bowls. I love to wrap my wontons in a big batch and freeze them in small portions, so I can have freshly made wonton soup ready in 5 minutes on a busy weekday.

How to wrap wonton

Cooking notes

1. How to choose wonton wrappers

Always use the square-shaped wrappers that are designed for making wontons. I love to use the Hong-Kong-style wonton wrappers, because of their beautiful yellow color. I always use the brand shown in the picture below when I can find them. I avoid using wonton wrappers that are too small (if edge is less than 3.5” or 8.5 cm) or too thin (the type sometimes labeled as for wontons or shumai), because they can be difficult to work with and fall apart easily.

Wonton wrappers - Cantonese style

2. Why does the filling look wet?

When you add all the filling ingredient into a bowl, it might look like you’ve added too many liquid ingredients. Do not panic! This is one of the traditional Chinese ways to create a juicy filling, by beating liquid ingredients into the meat. You should mix the ground meat in a circular motion until it forms a paste that is sticky and spongy. This means the liquid is well absorbed by the meat and the filling is firm enough to wrap.

3. Cooking time

The wonton cooking time can be a bit tricky to put a number on because it can vary a lot depending on the wonton size. In general, you want to keep an eye on the pot while cooking. Once the wontons float to the top, cook 1 to 2 minutes for small wontons, and 2 to 3 minutes for bigger wontons. The wonton wrappers should look semi-transparent. If a lot of wontons start to fall apart, it might mean you’ve cooked them too long. Transfer them to a bowl immediately.

Always taste a wonton before you serve them.

4. Storage and preparation

The best way to serve wonton soup is to boil the soup base and the wontons fresh, and serve them immediately after cooking. If you assemble a wonton soup but don’t finish, it will stay well in the fridge for a day. But the longer you keep it there, the mushier the wontons will become.

I understand that you might not want to cook a giant batch of wontons every time. That’s why I always recommend freezing the wrapped wontons and cooking them when you plan to serve them.

Wrapped wontons in meal prep containers

To make a single serving

  1. Boil the number of wontons you plan to serve: 8 to 10 wontons to serve as a light snack, 6-8 for an appetizer, or 12 to 15 for a main dish.
  2. For each 8 to 10 wontons, boil 1 cup of soup.

TIP: Adjust the serving size in the recipe below – if you click on the number of servings, it will show a slider. You can use the slider to adjust the serving size, and the ingredient quantity will change accordingly). Then you can see the quantity you need for each ingredient that goes into the soup base.

Note, wonton soup base is quite flexible and you can adjust it according to your taste. Add another drizzle of soy sauce if it’s not salty enough. You can also add some homemade chili oil to spice it up!

Phew! That’s everything you need to know to make a bowl of authentic wonton soup! I hope you enjoy it 🙂

Authentic wonton soup (Chinese restaurant-style)

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A bowl of wonton soup with pork and shrimp wontons, baby bok choy, and green onion in clear broth

Wonton Soup

By Maggie Zhu
4.97 from 28 votes
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 6 servings (30 large or 40 small wontons)
Print
This Wonton soup is my everyday Chinese comfort bowl, with pork and shrimp wontons, baby bok choy, and a clear chicken broth scented with ginger. It is a homestyle recipe, light and savory, and a comforting dinner I can put together from a bag of wrappers in the freezer.

Ingredients 

Filling

  • 1/2 lb ground lean pork
  • 1/2 lb peeled and deveined shrimp diced
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger
  • 2 green onions , thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (or 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt)
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil

Chicken soup base

Toppings

  • 4 green onions , chopped
  • 4 stalks baby bok choy , cut to bite-size (or 4 cups baby spinach)
  • 1 batch cilantro, chopped (Optional)
  • Homemade chili oil , to taste (Optional)

Instructions

  • Mix the filling: Combine the ground pork, shrimp, ginger, green onion, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, and sesame oil in a large bowl. Mix with a spatula or a pair of chopsticks until the ingredients are evenly combined and the filling becomes slightly sticky.
  • Set up the wrapping station: Place the wonton wrappers on a plate and cover them with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out. Prepare a small bowl of water for sealing the wrappers.
  • Wrap the wontons: Working with one wonton wrapper at a time, place the wrapper on your palm with one corner pointing toward you. Dip your finger in the water and lightly wet all four edges. Place 1 to 2 teaspoons of filling (*Footnote 1) in the center. Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner to form a triangle. Press firmly around the filling to seal, squeezing out as much air as possible. Wet the two side corners, bring them together so they overlap, and press firmly to seal.
  • Arrange the wrapped wontons on a tray in a single layer. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp paper towel while you finish wrapping the rest.
  • Prepare the broth: Add the chicken stock and ginger to a pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes to infuse the broth, then reduce to the lowest heat to keep warm while you cook the bok choy and wontons.
  • Cook the bok choy: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the bok choy and cook until just tender, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate. Keep the pot of water for cooking the wontons.
  • Cook the wontons: Bring the water back to a boil. Add 10 to 20 wontons at a time, depending on the size of your pot. Gently stir immediately so they don't stick to the bottom. Cook over medium heat until the wontons float to the surface. Continue cooking until the wrappers are plump and the filling is cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes for smaller wontons or 2 to 3 minutes for larger ones.
  • Assemble the soup: Divide the green onion, soy sauce, and sesame oil among 6 large serving bowls, adding about 1 tablespoon green onion, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil to each bowl. Pour about 1 1/2 cups of the hot broth into each bowl and stir to combine. Divide the cooked wontons and bok choy among the bowls. Serve hot with chili oil, if desired.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 259kcal, Carbohydrates: 22.9g, Protein: 21.6g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 0.8g, Cholesterol: 111mg, Sodium: 1526mg, Potassium: 164mg, Fiber: 0.9g, Sugar: 2.2g, Calcium: 40mg, Iron: 2.2mg

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 post was originally published on May 26, 2014 and updated by June 13, 2018.