Wontons

Pork and Shrimp Wontons in Clear Broth (云吞)

Classic Cantonese-style wontons with a juicy pork and shrimp filling, served in a light, fragrant broth. The wrappers are folded into little gold ingot shapes and floated in a clear soup finished with sesame oil and scallions.

Prep

30 min

Cook

15 min

Total

45 min

Serves

4 (about 24 wontons)

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •300 g (10½ oz) wonton wrappers, square, thin yellow egg-style wrappers; thawed if frozen
• •200 g (7 oz) ground pork, around 20% fat for juiciness
• •150 g (5¼ oz) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, finely chopped; freeze 24h if using previously frozen/unknown source for parasite safety
• •2 tbsp soy sauce, light Chinese soy
• •1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, or dry sherry
• •1 tsp sesame oil, toasted
• •1 tsp fine sea salt
• •ground white pepper, ½
• •1 tbsp cornstarch
• •1 tbsp grated ginger, freshly grated
• •2 stalks scallion, finely chopped for the filling
• •4 stalks scallion, sliced on the bias, for garnish
• •1.2 L (5 cups) chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium store-bought
• •1 star star anise
• •2 slices fresh ginger, smashed, for the broth
• •sesame oil, ½, to finish the broth

Steps

1. 1 Make the filling: in a bowl, combine ground pork, chopped shrimp, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, cornstarch, grated ginger, and the 2 chopped scallion stalks. Stir in one direction for 3–4 minutes until the mixture becomes sticky and holds together when pressed.
2. 2 Set up a wrapping station: lightly flour a tray, lay out wrappers covered with a damp towel so they don't dry out, and fill a small bowl with water for sealing.
3. 3 Fold the wontons: place about 1½ tsp (7 g) of filling in the center of a wrapper. Lightly dampen the edges with water, fold the wrapper diagonally into a triangle, press out any air, then bring the two outer corners down and overlap them, sealing with a dab of water to form a little ingot shape. Place on the floured tray and repeat. (A 3 g / ½ tsp measure works for smaller wrappers.)
4. 4 Prepare the broth: in a pot, bring the chicken stock to a gentle simmer with the star anise and smashed ginger slices. Simmer 10 minutes, then remove the star anise and ginger, and season lightly with salt and white pepper. Keep hot.
5. 5 Cook the wontons: bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop wontons in (do not crowd) and stir gently once so they don't stick. Boil until they float, then cook 3 more minutes. The filling must reach 75°C / 165°F internally - cut one open to confirm the pork is fully opaque and the shrimp is pink and firm. Lift out with a slotted spoon.
6. 6 Ladle the hot broth into 4 bowls, divide the wontons between them, and finish each with a few drops of sesame oil and a scattering of sliced scallion. Serve immediately, with or without a side of blanched egg noodles.