Deconstructed Wonton Soup

You know that annoying thing I do where I change around a recipe so that it suits me better?  (NEVER because I'm being lazy.  Never.)  Well, I up and did it again.  This time I messed around with a wonton soup recipe.

This month, for the Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Lea Ann's blog Cooking On The Ranch.  There were so many recipes I really wanted to make, such as the Lamb Sliders with Tomato Chutney, Halibut with Cilantro Topping, and Crock Pot Roast Beef.  If only I had more than one month in which to squeeze it all in!  I finally settled on the Classic Wonton Soup since I had many of the ingredients at home and I've wanted to make wonton soup for a while in any case.

But wait, what is this?  I need to make the wontons ... myself?  Normally I wouldn't have any issues with this but the day that I was making this soup I ended up also being swamped with things to do and I found myself pretty short on time.  (Though I somehow forgot to buy soy sauce during my grocery store trip, requiring me to run out again and pick some up right before I started cooking.)

I took a quick look at all my ingredients and settled on what I needed to do.  Here's what I came up with...

Deconstructed Wonton Soup

adapted from Cooking On The Ranch

serves 4-6

Print Recipe

• 2 quarts low sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, plus extra for finishing the soup
• 1 3-inch piece fresh ginger, finely grated, about 3 teaspoons
• 1 lb. lean ground pork
• 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, plus extra for finishing the soup
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 small head of cabbage, thinly sliced crosswise
• 2 large scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (green and white parts kept separate)
• 20-25 square wonton wrappers

1) In a large pot, bring the broth, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of the ginger to a simmer.

2) Over medium heat, drizzle the sesame oil in a saucepan.  Once the oil is hot, add the pork and saute until almost cooked through.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.

 

3) Once the meat is mostly done, add the rest of the ginger, the cabbage, and the scallion whites.  Cover the pan for about 2 minutes to wilt the cabbage.

 

4) Add the meat mixture to the broth and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

 

5) Slip the wonton wrappers into the broth either one at a time, or a few at a time.  The goal is to prevent the wrappers from clumping together.  Let the soup simmer for 5 more minutes.

 

6) Taste the soup and add more sesame oil and/or soy sauce to taste.  Sprinkle with the remaining scallion greens before serving.

As evidenced by several of the liberties I've taken with this recipe, it is quite adaptable.  I used cabbage instead of lettuce.  I used a lot more pork than originally called for.  I also entertained the idea of adding edamame to the soup, but I decided to stop where I was, since I was already veering so far from the original recipe.

I simply love this soup though.  I can't say enough good things about it.  I would eat this on a weekly basis if I didn't want to make it through my huge list of other recipes.  But seriously, this recipe was a treat to work with and I can't wait to dig into the other recipes that Lea Ann has on her site.  You should too!