Spicy Wonton Soup

Well the winters are just not receding here in Delhi. There has been a really long spree of chilly winter nights leading to trembling feet and blocked noses around the family. One cannot do much about the weather, but something that can provide good relief is piping hot clear soup. 

So, we decided to make just that using the dumpling recipe we had recently experimented with a few days ago. To add to the flavours, we added a touch of spice to this clear wonton soup.

Ingredients

For Wontons

For dough (makes around 12 dumplings)

½ cup all-purpose flour

Water (to knead the dough)

Pinch of salt

For filling

150 gms minced chicken
<Replace chicken with shredded cabbage and tofu for the vegetarian version>

1 medium onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

White pepper

Salt

To assemble

1 egg – whipped

For Soup  (serves 2-3)

1 spring onion finely chopped

7-8 button mushrooms diced

1 carrot diced
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2-3 drops of tobasco
1 tsp rice vinegar (or 1/2 tsp normal vinegar)

1 chicken / vegetable stock cube (or 3 cups of stock)
Salt and white pepper to taste

Method

Dough 

1. Make a well in the centre of flour and add water. Slowly add more water as you knead.

2. Knead well till the dough is firm but workable

3. Let it rest for about 1 hour

Filling

1. Add oil in a pan and sauté onion garlic and ginger together

2. Once the onion is golden brown, add chicken mince and cook for only 2-3 more minutes. We do not need to completely cook it since we will also be steaming it inside the dumplings

3. Add salt and pepper

Assembling Wontons / Momos   - Tortellini style

1. Divide the dough into small balls and roll them into thin sheets. Cut them into squares. 

2. Dust the squares so that they don't stick together.

3. Apply egg wash on perpendicular edges of the square. Now put the mixture in the centre and fold the square along the diagonal to form a triangle which will stick with the help of the egg wash.

4. Now, put a finger on the filling center and curl up to paste the 2 corners as shown below with the help of egg wash. (If this is all too confusing, see the video here)

6. You may steam the wontons separately and add in the soup in the end or you may add them 4 -5 mins before the soup is ready and avoid steaming all together. We recommend the former method buy see what suits you better.

Make the Soup

1. In a deep pan, sauté all the vegetables for about 2 min in only a few drops of oil. Since we will be boiling the soup, you don't need to cook the vegetables much.

2. Add water and stock cubes to the veggies. The amount of water and stock cubes would need to be controlled based on the quantity you are cooking. We used about 3 cups of water and 1 stock cube.

3. Once the soup has boiled, add all the other ingredients and cook at low heat for about 10 minutes. 

4. Add the dumplings and cook for another 2-3 minutes before serving. If you are cooking the dumplings in the soup, cook for about 5-7 minutes.

Enjoy piping hot soup!