WONTON SOUP
Some perfect weekend cooking for you!. It’s light but flavourful, if you’re very hungry, a side of noodles would be really nice addition. Tofu filled wontons in a rich broth with roasted cabbage and fresh seasonal asparagus. If you’re in a different season use whatever greens works for you. I finished with some Sichuan chili oil I had made previously but you can finish this off with any Asian style chili oil or flakes if you’d like some heat.
Some of the ingredients may not be easy for everyone to find, but If you have a local Asian supermarket you should be able to get everything you need. The fermented tofu addition to the stock I never would’ve thought to add, but I discovered it in the blog, ‘The Woks of Life’, that has great information on Chinese cooking. It adds to the depth and flavour but if you can’t find it you can leave it out and add more tamari at the end if needed. The kombu is usually sold in health food shops, as well as Asian supermarkets, it’s high in nutrients and minerals. I also like to add a piece when cooking grains and pulses for a nutrient boost.
For the broth
serves 4-62 tsp. rapeseed oil
1 bulb garlic, peeled and lightly crushed,
70 ginger, washed and sliced
10 spring onion – white only, save the greens to finish the soup
2 tsp. fermented tofu
150g carrot, washed & cut into 1 inch pieces
20g dried shiitake mushroom
1 piece kombu
10 whole white peppercorn
2 liters water
Roast Cabbage
1 medium cabbage
2 tablespoon rapeseed oil
2 tablespoon mirin
Wontons
1 tbsp. rapeseed oil
300g firm tofu
4 clove garlic, grated
60g ginger, grated
2 tbsp. tamari
1 tbsp. Shaoxing wine
1 tsp. mirin
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
10g chives, roughly chopped
To finish
2 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
50ml Shaoxing rice wine
50ml tamari or soy sauce
Heat a large deep pan. Add the rapeseed oil, ginger, garlic, and spring onion & cook for a minute. Add the fermented tofu, stirring cook for another minute, and add the rest of your stock ingredients, except the Shaoxing wine and tamari. Bring the mix up to a simmer and keep on a low heat & gentle simmer for an hour.
During this time prep the wontons and your veg for the soup.
Pre heat your oven 220c.
Make the stuffing for the wontons. Mince your tofu, you can do this by hand or quickly in a food processor. Heat a medium frying pan, add the oil then the tofu, cook for a few minutes until it starts to take on colour. Give it a stir and add the garlic and ginger, cook for a minute before mixing through the rest of the ingredients. Cook for another minute and take off the heat. The broth is flavourful so you don’t need too much seasoning here.
Cut your cabbage into 2 inch chunks. Place on a baking tray with 2 tbsp of rapeseed oil. Roast in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until crispy around the edges and beginning to caramelise. Mix through the mirin and set aside.
To stuff your wontons. Fill a small bowl with water. Take a wonton wrapper and lay it in your palm. Dip a finger into water and run it around the edges. Spoon a teaspoon of the tofu mix into the centre of your wrapper and fold over, pressing tightly along the edges of the wonton, making sure it’s well sealed. Place on a parchment lined baking tray. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and filling. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside until ready to cook. You should have 20 wontons from this.
Once the stock is ready, strain it into a large bowl or another large pan. If needed, transfer the stock back to your pan. Stir through the Shaoxing and tamari or soy sauce. Turn on the heat again and bring to a simmer. Add your asparagus, cook for about 3 minutes, I like the asparagus when it still has bite so minimal cooking is needed for this.
Cook the wontons in a separate large pan, with plenty of water, and bring to the boil. Cook no more than a single layer of dumplings in the pan at once so the pan doesn’t over crowd. Once the water for the dumplings is boiling gently add your wontons. They’re ready when they rise to the top.
Use a slotted spoon to divide the wontons between four bowls. Ladle the rest of the broth & asparagus evenly into the four bowls, top with the cabbage and chili oil or flakes if desired. I used a drizzle of Sichuan oil I’d previously made. You could also add a teaspoon of chili crisp, although it doesn’t need it, but if you like that extra heat!