Good wonton noodle soup is hard to find, with a good combination of shrimp wonton, pork bone broth and chewy jook-sing noodle 竹升面. The best wonton noodle soup in memory was still the one of a small shop beneath bridge near home. Either in steaming, humid hot summer or chilly, cold winter, sitting on small standing stools with red paddings, rubbing neighbors’ shoulders in the crowded restaurants and having one bowl of wonton noodle soup with my parents will always chill the summer nights, brighten the winter darkness. Wonton noodle soup is another taste of home for me.
Close to the ocean, having seafood–shrimp in the filling is the first thing that differentiate Cantonese wonton. Cantonese wonton used 1:1 ratio of pork : shrimp, others have different fillings such as pork, shiitake mushrooms, etc. Second is the shape; Cantonese wonton as more casual shaping whereas other wontons are more delicately held/shaped together.
Besides wonton, another essential component is the pork bone broth. Bones are cooked with seafoods such as dried shrimps, dried scallops for long hours, and flatfish powder 大地魚粉 from grinded dried flatfish is commonly used. All these seafoods are the secrets that triple the umami of pork bone broth that lingers in your mouth.
Jook-sing noodle is different from egg noodle or pasta, both of which are made from egg and flour, for two reasons:
- the use of duck egg instead of chicken egg, no water is added
- smashing noodle with heavy bamboo as chef sits on bamboo to bounce it against noodle and flatten dough to thin sheet, giving it the chewy texture
QUICK TAKEAWAYS
- Shrimp and pork in wonton ratio is 1:1
- Mix shrimp and pork with hand, stir till becomes sticky, then the meat mixture will be very bouncy, chewy
- Rinse cooked noodle in water after quick cook; over-cooked noodle will be too soft and soggy
- Dried shrimp and dried scallop give the broth the seafood umami taste
RECIPE
Wonton enough for 8 portions (~60 wontons):
- 300g ground pork
- 300g shrimp (grind shrimp in food processor)
- 1tbsp ginger juice (squeeze from ginger slices)
- rice wine
- white pepper powder
- salt
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp flatfish powder 大地魚粉
- 2 egg yolks (or 1 whole egg)
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Pork bone soup:
- 1-2lbs pork bones
- dried shrimp 蝦米
- dried scallop 乾貝
Procedure:
Bone broth:
Step 1: rinse dried shrimp and dried scallop, place them in cold water to soften up; before cooking, tear up dried scallop into small pieces
Step 2: cook pork bones in cold water with ginger slices, scallion and rice wine. Remove when no more floating foams forms.
Step 3: cook pork bones, dried shrimp and dried scallop till broth becomes white or rich enough; might need 2-4 hours. Add salt.
Wonton:
Step 1: grind 300g shrimp in food processor; if you prefer whole shrimp, skip this step
Step 2: marinate shrimp with 1 tbsp ginger juice, 1 tbsp rice wine, 2g white pepper powder, 6g salt; mix well and rest in fridge for more than 30mins
Step 3: marinate 300g ground pork with minced garlic cloves, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp flatfish powder, 2 egg yolk, salt, 4g white pepper powder, 1 tbsp corn starch, 1 tbsp sesame oil; mix well and rest in fridge for more than 10mins.
Step 4: mix shrimp and meat, wrap meat in wonton skin; wonton skin is small, place a little meat is enough and don’t be greedy like me!! Gently clench wonton skin together as video below showed. Store wonton not used right away in freezer.
Step 5: cook 6-7 wontons in cold water; when water boils and wontons float up, add some cold water and wait till wonton floats up again and get them out. For dumplings, this step should repeat 3 times (三起三落). Wonton skin is thinner, so add cold water once after 1st float is enough.
Step 6: cook jook-sing noodle/egg noodle 竹升面/蛋麵 in boiling water; jook-sing noodle just needs ~1min, egg noodle might take longer. Rinse noodle in cold water for chewier texture.
Step 7: place noodle in bowl, then cooked wontons and lastly pour bone broth over
READY TO SERVE!!
RESOURCES
