Wonton Soup and Lo mein, that’s whats for dinner…

I use to get this wonton soup at a little chinese kitchen downtown Rock Island, IL. I called up Sincerely and reminisced about that soup. Sara says, “you can make it, it’s not that difficult”.

She was right, kind of. The ingredient list isn’t long. However, the prep time was extensive. I started cooking at 3:30pm and we sat down to eat at almost 7pm.

I knew the kids probably wouldn’t like the soup so I made my version of their favorite take out – Lo mein.

You might expect to see a buffet but this is what 3 hours worth of work brought to the table.

Let’s work our way backwards on this one.

I googled wonton soup and the top searches, a toss-up between Emeril’s and Martha’s. In the end I chose Martha because, I love me some Martha.

I tweaked it a little cause I can’t do “perfect”…

Ingredients;

24 rectangular (3 1/2-by-3-inch) or square wonton wrappers (I used 60)
1 recipe wonton filling (we’ll get to that in a bit)
1 box chicken broth & 8 bouillon cubes + 8 cups of water.
Coarse salt to taste
3 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal (I used 6)
2 to 3 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (I used olive cause that’s what I had on hand)

Wonton filling;

1/2 cup finely chopped Napa or Savoy cabbage (I used 1 cup)
Coarse salt (to taste)
1 tbl crushed red pepper
1 tsp white pepper
6 ounces ground pork, not all lean (I used 1 lb turkey & 1lb pork, knowing I would use the extra for my Lo mein)
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger (I used paste, one to one)
1 teaspoon soy sauce (3)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (olive)

How to make the wontons;

1. Work with one wrapper at a time, and keep the rest covered with a damp paper towel. Spoon less than a teaspoon of filling in the center.

2. Keep a little bowl of room temp water near by to wet the four edges. To make a triangle, fold wrapper in half over filling, making sure the ends meet and the filling is centered; press the edges together to crimp and form a seal.

3. Moisten the tips of the long sides of the triangle. Then bring them together and press to seal.

When I make it again, I will boil the wonton in plain salt water and then transfer them to the broth. The starch from the wrappers turned the broth into a cloudy thick mess. I also felt it necessary to use the entire package of wontons (I made more meat than required so I’d have some for the lo mein) and the ratio of the wonton to broth made a pork and dumplings type situation.