Wanting Wontons

Ever since making wonton soup for my Hawaii relatives, I've been wanting to make it again. It's fun, it's not too complicated and it tastes really clean and delicious. Another rainy day was good incentive to work on my wonton soup technique.

This time, I made them with ground pork rather than ground turkey and I spiced up the insides rather dramatically with fresh grated ginger and pepper. I also sauteed green onion and minced mushrooms along with the pork, so the filling had more character than last time.

The broth was better this time, too. I used boxed broth but thinned it half-and-half with water for a milder flavor, then stirred in about a tablespoon of white miso while it was heating gently.

After filling, folding and sealing the wontons with a little egg wash, I dropped them into a pot of boiling water and cooked them just for a very few minutes, perhaps five in total, until they puffed and floated to the top - the filling is already cooked, so you needn't worry about food poisoning. I didn't bother to gather the ends into a pucker this time, just left them as triangles and I actually like them better this way because it showcased the delicacy of the wrappers.

To plate, all you do is put some frozen peas and uncooked, sliced green onion in the bowl, ladle in some of the chicken-miso stock and then add your wontons, perhaps three or four per serving. The hot stock will thaw and cook the peas just enough and heat the green onion to a brighter color.

The whole thing used only about 1/16th of a pound of ground pork, so it's a very economical dish as well as a wholesome, filling and delicious one. Even if you make it with spendy organic ingredients, as I did, it's still a bargain for that much flavor and nutrition.

As with all things, the more you do it, the better you get. My wonton technique improves with each repetition. I might try war wonton soup next, My Beloved's favorite.