Pork & Shrimp Wonton Soup

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A weekend project that pays out for a month: fold 50 pork-and-shrimp wontons in one sitting, freeze them raw on trays, then build a clean ginger-scallion broth in 20 minutes whenever you want soup. The filling stays juicy because it's beaten with a little ice water; the broth stays clear because the wontons cook in a separate pot. Restaurant bowls run around $12 — this makes six for the price of one.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground pork (not lean — 20% fat)
• 8 oz raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 scallions, finely minced
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tbsp ice water
• 1 package (50–60 sheets) square wonton wrappers, thin (Hong Kong style)

• 8 cups good chicken stock, low-sodium
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into coins
• 3 scallions, white parts, smashed
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• to taste kosher salt

• 6 oz baby bok choy or napa cabbage, leaves separated
• 2 scallions, green parts, thinly sliced
• optional chili oil, for drizzling

Instructions

1. Pat the shrimp very dry. Chop half of them into rough 1/4-inch pieces for texture and mince the other half to a coarse paste. Add both to a large bowl with the ground pork.
2. Add the minced scallions, grated ginger, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt, white pepper and cornstarch. Stir vigorously in one direction with chopsticks or a sturdy spatula for 2 minutes, until the mixture turns sticky and pastes to the side of the bowl.
3. Add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring in the same direction after each addition until fully absorbed. The filling should look glossy and slightly loose. Chill 20 minutes while you set up your folding station. (Optional: microwave a teaspoon of filling for 20 seconds and taste for salt.)
4. Set out the wrappers under a damp towel, a small bowl of water, and two parchment-lined sheet pans dusted with cornstarch. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling just off-center on a wrapper, dab water along two edges, and fold into a triangle, pressing out air around the filling.
5. Bring the two long corners of the triangle together, dab one with water, and pinch them to overlap — the classic nurse's-cap shape. Set on the tray, not touching. Repeat with remaining wrappers; you should get 48–55 wontons. Work in batches and keep unused wrappers covered so they don't dry out.
6. To freeze: put the uncovered trays in the freezer for 1 hour, until the wontons are hard. Transfer to zip-top bags, press out the air, and freeze up to 3 months. Do not thaw before cooking.
7. For each meal, make the broth: combine the chicken stock, ginger coins and smashed scallion whites in a saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat and hold it there, uncovered, for 15 minutes so the aromatics infuse. Fish out the ginger and scallion, then stir in the soy sauce, white pepper and sesame oil. Taste and add salt — the broth should taste slightly assertive on its own.
8. Meanwhile, bring a separate large pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop in the bok choy for 60 seconds, lift it out with a spider or slotted spoon, and divide among 6 bowls.
9. Add the wontons to the boiling water — 8 per serving, straight from the freezer — and stir once so they don't stick. Cook fresh wontons 4 minutes, frozen 6 to 7 minutes, from the moment the water returns to a boil. They're done when they float and the wrappers look translucent at the edges; cut one open to confirm the pork is opaque throughout (165°F).
10. Lift the wontons out with a slotted spoon, letting them drain for a second, and add them to the bowls. Ladle over the hot broth, scatter with sliced scallion greens, and finish with chili oil if you like. Serve immediately — the wrappers soften fast.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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