Homemade Wonton Soup

Skip the takeout and dive into a warm bowl of savory, brothy Homemade Wonton Soup with tender meaty dumplings and an array of colorful vegetables. This easy recipe is just as fun to make as it’s delicious to eat.

Is there anything more comforting than a bowl of warm soup? From roasted poblano beef stew to this aromatic ginger kissed creation with delicate pork filled dumplings, soup is totally the fuzzy socks of the food world. This easy wonton soup will have you feeling like a total rockstar in the kitchen and perfume your entire house with the layers of incredible flavor in this takeout favorite.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Make Ahead & Meal Prep – If you’re looking for a dish that you can prep ahead of time and have on hand for an easy weeknight meal, this wonton soup recipe is it. Not only does the soup itself freeze well but the wontons can be frozen making this soup a great option for meal prepping. Make sure to read the tips below on how to prepare the wontons for freezing as well as cooking.
• Customizable – Not only can you swap out the ground pork in these homemade wontons, you can also have fun playing with the ingredients in the soup itself.
• Simple Ingredients – This easy wonton soup uses common ingredients you can easily find at the grocery store. Pantry staples like soy sauce and rice wine vinegar are combined with fresh vegetables like shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and celery. There’s no need for any specialty ingredients. You can even find the wonton wrappers in your produce section at your local grocery store.

What is Wonton Soup?

Most of us are familiar with the wonton soup you can find at your local American-Chinese restaurant. Delicate meat filled dumplings floating in a clear broth make for the perfect starter to any feast. However true wonton soup varies from region to region from the shape of the wontons to the fillings, and how it’s served.

Mention of wontons date as far back as the Han dynasty, 202 BC – 9 AD. It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of China where wheat-based dishes are more popular than rice.

Cantonese cuisine offers up the most popular variety. The wontons are usually filled with a combination of minced pork and shrimp and served in soup with thin noodles. The soup itself is made with a base of shrimp shells, pork bones, and dried flounder giving it incredible umami.

Shanghai cuisine offers up another popular variety. The usually pork filled purses are served in chicken soup and come in two distinct sizes, the smaller wontons being perfect for breakfast or brunch and the larger size being served for lunch and dinner.

Ingredients

• Aromatics – Freshly grated ginger and garlic make up the one two punch of flavor in both the wontons themselves and also the soup. Skip the stuff in the tube and use fresh for the most depth of flavor.
• Vegetables – Onions, celery, and carrots are joined by tender baby bok choy and earthy shiitake mushrooms. Cilantro and scallions also add freshness while a jalapeno gives a little back heat.
• Flavor Boosters – Soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and toasted sesame oil give this soup complexity. Sherry adds a little sweetness. Like a little heat go ahead and add a little or a lot of sambal oelek or sriracha. I also used sriracha sea salt for a little kick.

How to Make Homemade Wonton Soup

• Prepare your wonton filling. Add all of the ingredients for the pork wonton soup to a bowl and mix to combine. The mixture will be a little wet. If you don’t plan on making your wontons immediately the filling can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
• Fill your wontons. Make your wonton station. You’ll need a small bowl of water for sealing the edges of the wonton wrappers, a damp towel or paper towel to keep your wonton wrappers covered, and a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place one wrapper in front of you turning it so the corners form a diamond. Place a heaping half teaspoon of the filling into the center of the wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper and pull the top corner down, pressing out excess air and sealing the edges to form a triangle. Pull the two edges of the triangle over each other and seal them with another dab of water. Place the wonton onto the parchment paper line baking sheet. Continue with the remaining wontons until all wrappers have been used. Place the baking sheet in the freezer while you prepare the soup.

• Sauté your aromatics. Heat a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat with the oil. Add the garlic and ginger and stir it for 60 seconds until fragrant.
• Let the soup simmer. Add the onions, celery, jalapeno if using, and baby bok choy stems and cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the carrots, broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover it and allow them to cook for 30-34 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
• Cook the bok choy leaves and mushrooms. Stir in the leaves of the bok choy and the shiitakes. Let them cook for 10 minutes or until wilted.
• Cook the wontons. Either in your pot of soup or in a pot of boiling broth/water, add the wontons. As soon as they float remove them from the pot of soup and place on a baking sheet or large plate.
• Serve it up! Place several wontons into your bowl. Spoon the soup over the top and garnish with your favorite toppers like jalapeno slices, cilantro, and green onions. Add a squeeze of lime and enjoy!

How to Keep Wontons from Breaking

• Wonton wrappers can dry out and become brittle easily. Keep them covered with a damp towel or paper towels when forming your wontons.
• Don’t overfill the wontons. Yes, we all want a ton of that savory filling, but too much and your wontons won’t properly seal.
• Wipe your work surface off occasionally when forming your wontons. If the wrappers become too wet they will become soft and easily tear.
• Don’t overcook the wontons. I like to cook them separately in a pot of chicken broth. They will begin to break down if left in the soup and become soggy.
• Freeze your wontons before cooking. They can be boiled directly from frozen. There is zero need to unthaw them.

How to Store Wonton Soup

• Freeze the wontons in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. It’ll take about 45-60 minutes for them to flash freeze. Once they’ve been frozen divide them up into freezer safe bags. They will last for up to three months in the freezer. When you’re ready to cook them pop the frozen wontons directly into your hot broth or soup. There is no need to unthaw them.
• Keep the cooked wontons stored separate from the soup. The wrappers will begin to degenerate if left in the soup. The soup will keep for up to five days in an airtight container in the refrigerator and up to three months if stored in the freezer.
• For the best texture you’ll want to eat the cooked wontons within a couple of days.

Variations

• Substitute the ground pork in the wontons for ground chicken or ground turkey.
• Use a combination of ground meat with finely chopped shrimp. You’ll want 1/2 pound of each.
• Instead of bok choy add baby spinach to the bowl.
• Add peeled and deveined shrimp to the soup at the same time you add the mushrooms and bok choy leaves.
• Add slices of poached chicken or leftover slices of pork.
• Swap out any of the vegetables for your favorites like fresh corn, zucchini, or baby bella mushrooms.
• You will most likely have a little of the wonton filling leftover. Let it refrigerate until slightly firmer. Use a teaspoon to portion out mini meatballs and drop them into the hot soup. Once they float they’re cooked through.
• Add bean sprouts for additional crunch.

Tips From the Beach

• Flash freeze your wontons before cooking them. This helps prevent them from falling apart. You can also transfer them to freezer bags once frozen and pull them out as needed.
• Don’t overfill the wonton wrappers. The average wonton wrapper will hold a generous half teaspoon of filling.
• Don’t stress about folding the perfect wonton. You can also just fold them into a triangle shape. They will still be insanely delicious.
• Only cook as many wontons as you plan on eating. Once they’ve been cooked, you’ll want to remove them from the soup and store them separately.
• Have fun with your toppings. Bean sprouts, jalapeno slices, cilantro, green onions, and lime wedges are all great options.

Looking for more soup inspiration? Make sure to check out Italian Sausage and Vegetable Soup.

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