Wonton Soup, No Wontons

I was hearing the call of wonton soup for a while, but not the call of actually making wontons. What if I bought wonton wrappers and just cut them up as noodles, then made the filling into poached meatballs? Plan!

And then I went to the grocery store and right next the wonton wrappers they had "wonton noodles". I didn't even have to cut them up!  Somebody's way ahead of me! (Not exactly unheard of, I have to admit.) So I made my wontonless wonton soup, and it was delicious and exactly what I wanted, and we lived happily ever after. Well, until the next day, at least*.

2 to 6 servings
45 minutes prep time

Make the Meatballs:
2 green onions
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon barley flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 small egg
250 grams lean ground pork
about 2 tablespoons barley flour

Wash, trim, and mince the onions finely. Put them in a mixing bowl. Peel and grate the ginger finely, and add it to the bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients except the pork, and mix until there are no lumps of flour, then mix in the pork by hand, very thoroughly.

Form the mixture into 24 small meatballs, dropping them onto a plate sprinkled with the remaining flour and rolling them to coat them in it.

Make the Soup:
6 cups chicken stock, salted to taste (may use soy sauce)
6 to 8 slices fresh ginger
2 cups finely shredded Savoy or green cabbage
1 medium carrot
2 or 3 green onions
finely chopped cilantro to taste
200 grams (7 ounces) wonton noodles, loosened

Put the chicken stock on to come up to a boil, in a soup pot. Start a pot of lightly-salted water boiling, big enough to hold the noodles. Scrub and slice the ginger and add it to the chicken stock while it heats. 

Wash, trim, and chop the cabbage. Peel and grate the carrot. Wash, trim, and very finely chop the green onions. Put the cabbage, carrot, and two-thirds of the green onion aside together; leave out the darkest green parts of the green onions. Wash, dry, and chop the cilantro and set it aside with the remaining green onion tops.

When the soup comes up to a boil, add the meatballs and the ginger. Stir them very gently once to be sure they are not sticking, then let them cook for about 3 minutes. At that point, add the noodles to the pot of boiling water, stir them well, and cook them for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, add the cabbage, carrot and green onion pile to the soup; mix in gently but well. Cover the soup and bring it up to the boil.

Drain the noodles and add them to the soup, stirring them in gently. Let the whole soup come back up to the boil, then serve it, with the remaining green onion tops and cilantro sprinkled over the top.



*Yes, I'm getting a little punchy. How about you?


Last year at this time I made Roasted Mushroom, Bacon, Green Onion, & Buckwheat Salad.

Posted in: Ontario Food