Pork & Shrimp Wonton Noodle Soup
Enjoy my family's juicy and flavorful pork & shrimp wonton noodle soup recipe!
Ingredients
Aromatic water for filling
- 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 inch knob of ginger
- 2 stalks scallions
- 2 tsp Sichuan red peppercorns (optional)
- 2 cups water
Shrimp marinade
- 4 oz shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1/2 tsp baking soda or 1 tsp cornstarch
Filling
- 8 oz pork shoulder (butt) with fat marbling
- 2-3 pearl onions or 1 medium shallot
- 1/4 cup bamboo shoots
- 1/4 cup dried baby shrimp (see recommendations above on which kind)
- 2-3 stalks scallions
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp neutral oil (i.e. avocado, canola, vegetable)
For folding the wontons
- 60-70 thin wonton skins
- bowl of water
Noodle soup
- thin egg noodles
- gailan, yu choy, or any preferred greens
- chicken bouillon powder
- dried shrimp powder (the one we made for the filling)
- white pepper
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- scallions and/or cilantro (garnish)
Instructions
Make the aromatic water
- Lightly smash the piece of ginger and 2 stalks of scallions to help release its fragrance. In a bowl, add the smashed ginger, scallions, dried shiitake mushrooms, and Sichuan red peppercorns (optional).3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms, 2 inch knob of ginger, 2 stalks scallions, 2 tsp Sichuan red peppercorns
- Add about 2 cups of warm water and make sure the mushrooms are submerged. Let sit until mushrooms fully rehydrate (usually about 30-45 min) while you prep all the other ingredients.2 cups water
Prepare the filling ingredients
- Chop up the peeled and deveined shrimp into small bite-sized pieces. Put into a bowl with 1/2 tsp baking soda (or 1 tsp of cornstarch) and a pinch of salt. Mix well -- if it's really dry, add a few drops of water. Set aside and let marinade. The cornstarch will help the shrimp stay snappy and bouncy.4 oz shrimp, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
- Finely dice the bamboo shoots and the pearl onions or shallots. Slice 2 stalks of scallions thinly, and keep the whites and greens separate. The whites will be for the wonton filling, and the green will be garnish for the soup. Set aside.2-3 pearl onions, 1/4 cup bamboo shoots, 2-3 stalks scallions
- Mince the pork shoulder (butt) by first slicing the meat into thin, flat steaks. Then, slice those steaks into long strips. Turn the strips 90 degrees so that they're perpendicular to your knife, then slice into small cubes. Once they're small cubes, you can use a large cleaver or knife to continue chopping until they're minced. While mincing, you'll want to pause and occasionally fold the meat over itself to get a sticky, bouncy texture. See the video above for a quick tutorial and to see what the end result should look like. Set aside in a mixing bowl.8 oz pork shoulder (butt) with fat marbling
- Once the shiitake mushrooms are completely rehydrated (you can test by squeezing -- there should be no hardness to them), squeeze out the liquid, remove the tough middle stems, and finely dice. Save the aromatic water for the filling.
- Heat up a pan to medium heat with no oil and toast the dried baby shrimp until they're fragrant and slightly brittle. Remove and set aside. Add 1 tbsp neutral oil, diced mushrooms, pearl onions or shallots, and a pinch of salt. Saute until they're slightly caramelized (about 3-4 minutes). Remove from the pan.3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms, 1/4 cup dried baby shrimp, 2 tbsp neutral oil, 2-3 pearl onions
- In a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, grind the dried baby shrimp into a powder. If you don't have either of these tools, you can try a rolling pin, or chop them up really finely.
Mix the filling
- In the mixing bowl with the minced pork, add all the seasonings: the dried shrimp powder, cornstarch, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, chicken bouillon powder, sesame oil, white pepper, and add the white parts of the scallions last, on top.1 tsp cornstarch, 2 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1/8 tsp white pepper, dried shrimp powder, 2 stalks scallions
- (Optional) Heat up 2 tbsp of neutral oil and pour over the scallions to bring out their fragrance -- it should sizzle. Alternatively, just add 2 tbsp of neutral oil to the filling.2 tbsp neutral oil
- Mix with either chopsticks or your hands vigorously in one direction (I usually go clock-wise), until everything is well incorporated.
- Add 2 tbsp of the aromatic water, then mix vigorously again in the same direction, until the water is all absorbed. Repeat 3 times (total of 6 tbsp of aromatic water).
- Continue mixing until you see the texture change as the meat proteins break down. You should see "webs" or "strings" of protein in the meat when you're mixing, and the texture should be sticky and bouncy. This took me a good few minutes of mixing. See video for reference!
- Once you're at the right texture, add the sautéed mushrooms and onions, marinated shrimp, and finely diced bamboo shoots. Mix one final time until everything is incorporated.
- Cover and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight to let flavors marinade.
Fold the wontons
- Let your wonton skins come to room temperature from the fridge -- this will make them softer and more flexible. Take one wonton skin and add 1 tsp of filling to the middle.60-70 thin wonton skins
- Dip one or two fingers into the bowl of water, then line the edges of the wonton with it. This will help seal the wonton.bowl of water
- The easy method to fold a wonton is to gather up all the corners towards the middle, and press firmly. To see a video tutorial on two different methods, watch the video above!
- To store extra wontons, first freeze them in one layer on a plate or baking sheet. Don't stack them -- they need to first freeze separately to prevent them from sticking to each other. After an hour or so, you can put them all into a freezer storage bag or container and keep for a few months.
Make the noodle soup
- In the bowl you'll be eating from, add the seasonings for the noodle broth (see ingredients), to taste.chicken bouillon powder, white pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil
- Bring a large pot of water up to boil, then add your wontons. Make sure to boil these gently -- reduce the heat if necessary. Once the wontons have been boiling for about 4-5 minutes, add a half cup of cold water to the pot and let it come up to boil again. Once they are floating at the top, they're ready!
- Cook your thin egg noodles and greens in the same pot of water. These should only take several minutes.thin egg noodles, gailan, yu choy, or any preferred greens
- This step is optional, but I like to put the cooked egg noodles and greens in a bath of ice water to preserve a chewy, bouncy noodle texture and a slight crunch for the vegetables.
- Add a few ladles of the broth to your bowl. Add wontons, cooked noodles, and greens, and garnish with scallions or cilantro. Enjoy!scallions and/or cilantro
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!