Homemade wonton soup! These wontons are filled with a juicy pork and prawn / shrimp filling and will knock your socks off. With step by step photos and a recipe video, you’re going to be a Wonton Wrapping Master in no time! Added bonus: Best standby freezer meal ever and super healthy (350 calories for a bowl!)
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Wonton soup
If you’ve ever had store bought frozen wontons or wontons from a good value Chinese place that probably uses frozen wontons, you will be amazed how different homemade ones are. The main difference is the texture of the filling – because homemade wontons are made with just pure fresh ingredients, NO mysterious fillers!
I think wontons are one of those things that many people don’t think to make, assuming they are really tedious and take ages. But they don’t!! The wonton filling takes minutes to make (literally – 5 minutes) and wrapping the wontons is quite fast if you use my method!
About this Wonton recipe
I used to use my mother’s Wonton recipe, because it’s the one I have used all my cooking life. Then a few years ago, I came across this Wonton Soup recipe by my friend Maggie from Omnivore’s Cookbook, a wonderful authentic Chinese food blog.
I’ve learnt so much about authentic Chinese cooking from Maggie who was born and raised in China and only recently moved to the States. She takes such great care with her recipes, if you love Chinese food, I think you’ll be as delighted to discover her blog as I was. 🙂
So I think my mother was a bit disgruntled when I told her I was using Maggie’s Wonton filling for this post because it’s better than hers. I sent her away with samples, and she agreed that Maggie’s Wontons are fantastic, but didn’t admit it was better.
It IS better. Sorry mum! Maggie’s has better seasoning! 😉
Wonton filling
There are many types of wonton fillings, but I’d say that pork and shrimp/prawns are the most common. Then there are all sorts of additions, including mushrooms, water chestnuts, chopped up Asian greens and even carrots.
With all the possible variations out there, and not knowing which recipes are actually “real”, you can be confident that this is authentic because I have used Maggie’s recipe exactly as it is written.
Wrapping Wontons
This is where Maggie and I differ. If you click over to Maggie’s recipe, you will see that she uses trapezium shaped wontons wrappers (I had to Google that!!!). I use plain square ones because they are readily available here in Australia, even in supermarkets (Woolies, Coles). Once cooked, they look pretty similar.
So here is how I wrap wontons. This is a fast way of wrapping wontons because you can lay out 10, even 20, and do them all in one go, rather than doing them one by one, because they are wrapped on the work surface rather than in your hand.
My Way of Wrapping Wontons
The above is the way I usually fold wontons because I like the way the “tails” flap around like noodles once cooked. Yes, I’m a 7 year old at heart.
But to me, the flappy wonton skins are part of the Wonton Soup experience. 😂
The better way for freezing (more compact)
However, when I know I’m going to be freezing all or most of them, I wrap them in a more compact way so they fit better inside containers. This is the way the frozen wontons in Asian grocery stores are wrapped.
The photo on the bottom right is a container of frozen wontons I bought to show you how they are sold. Also so I could make some and smugly say how much better homemade is!
Asian Grocery Store Way
Both wonton wrapping methods are just as easy, and you can do them in batches rather than holding them one by one. But you can see how much more compact the Asian Grocery Store Way is compared to My Way in the photo below. The Wontons at the top are the compact Asian Grocery Way, the ones on the bottom are My Way with more flap page once cooked.
This is what mine looks like once cooked. See all that wonton wrapper flappage? YUM.
Don’t get too hung up about how neat your wontons are. Once cooked, they mostly lose their shape, so just make sure that your filling is well sealed inside. And even if the filling falls out, you still get the same flavour, so don’t fret!!!
Tip: As tempting as it is, do not bunch them up like a money bag otherwise you end up with a thick wad of wonton wrapper that won’t cook through.
Broth for Wonton Soup
Wontons are served in a clear Chinese chicken broth. Sometimes with just wontons, sometimes with wontons and noodles, called “Combination Long and Short Soup” on Chinese restaurant menus. “Short” refers to the wontons and “Long” refers to the long noodles!
If I am at an Asian store, I usually pick up Chinese chicken broth which is more yellow but just as tasty as Western chicken broth that is available at supermarkets. However, I usually make this with ordinary Chicken broth using the same soup broth recipe as my Chinese Noodle Soup.
So….what do you think??? Have I convinced you to give homemade Wonton Soup a go? I promise it is WORTH IT! They taste absolutely incredible. You will be amazed!
– Nagi x
PS Homemade wontons are so fantastic for standby meals to keep in your freezer because you can throw in whatever veggies you have and voila! You have a complete HEALTHY meal!
More great dumplings of the world
Potstickers (Chinese pan fried dumplings)
Gyoza (Japanese dumplings)
Shumai (Japanese steamed dumplings on my mother’s site, RecipeTin Japan!)
Browse the Yum Cha recipe collection
Watch How To Make It
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Wonton Soup
Ingredients
- 50 – 60 wonton wrappers (Note 1)
Wonton Filling
- 200 g / 7 oz lean pork mince (ground pork)
- 200 g / 7 oz peeled prawns / shrimp , roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger , finely grated (1.5″ / 3cm piece)
- 2 shallots / green onions , finely chopped (5 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sesame oil, toasted (Note 4)
Broth (for 2 servings)
- 3 cups / 750 ml chicken broth (Note 5)
- 2 garlic cloves , smashed (6)
- ⅓” / 1 cm piece of ginger , sliced (optional, but highly recommended)
- 1½ tbsp light soy sauce (Note 2)
- 2 tsp sugar (any)
- 1½ tbsp chinese cooking wine (Note 3)
- ¼ – ½ tsp sesame oil
To Serve
- Shallots / scallions , finely chopped
- Bok choy , quartered, or Chinese broccoli cut into 10cm /4″ lengths (optional)
- 40 – 50 g / 1.5 – 1.75 oz dried egg noodles per person , (optional) (8)
Instructions
Wontons:
- Place Filling ingredients in a bowl. Use a potato masher to mash until fairly smooth – about 20 mashes. Don’t turn the prawn into a complete paste, small chunks are good.
Wrapping (See photos and video):
- Use My Way (better Wonton Soup experience!) or the Asian Grocery Store Way (easier to pack for freezing).
- Lay Wontons on work surface. Use 2 teaspoons to put the Filling on the wontons. Work in batches of 5 if starting out, up to 15 or 20 if confident. Brush 2 edges with water. Fold to seal, pressing out air. Brush water on one corner and bring corners together, pressing to seal.
- Place wrapped wontons into a container with a lid as you work (so they don’t dry out).
Cooking/Freezing:
- To cook: bring a large pot of water to boil. Place wontons in water and cook for 4 minutes or until they float. Remove with slotted spoon straight into serving bowls. Ladle over broth.
- To freeze: Freeze uncooked in airtight containers. Cook from frozen for 6 to 8 minutes. IMPORTANT: Do not freeze if you made this with defrosted frozen prawns. (Note 11)
Broth:
- Place Broth ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Add white ends of scallions/shallots if leftover from Wonton filling.
- Place lid on, bring to simmer then reduce to medium high and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Pick garlic and ginger out before using.
- If using vegetables, blanch in the soup broth and place in serving bowl.
Assemble Soup:
- Prepare noodles according to packet directions (if using noodles). Place in serving bowl with cooked wontons and blanched vegetables.
- Ladle over soup. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This wonton recipe was originally published in September 2016. Updated for housekeeping matters in 2018 – no change to recipe!
Life Of Dozer
Little impromptu home video I put together of Dozer with the gang at the beach!
Do you think jack daniels sour whiskey would work in the won tons?
I honestly don’t think it would, the flavour would be too strong – I have substitutions in the notes though ☺️
Can I make the wontons early in the day and refrigerate until ready to cook? I have 4 kids, so finding the time to do it all at dinner time might not be too realistic. 😉
Hi Kimiko – yes you can put them in the fridge or even freezer ☺️
The whole family loved this wonton soup and were impressed that the wontons were made from scratch. Left out the shrimp ( my granddaughter not a fan). So delicious. And yes some of the wontons were not pretty. I fully expected a few of them to fall apart and the water to be a ground pork bath. But those babies held together! You never disappoint Nagi. Your notes are invaluable. For me that is number two thing I LOVE💕about your recipes. Number one of coarse is they are always fabulous!!
Your three free cookbooks are on my desktop. Your emails are first ones I open. Thank you From a Canadian fan!
This recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it out! I just have one question that I hope is not really dumb. The filling is still raw when it goes into the wontons, right?
Hi Stephanie, not dumb at all! Yes the filling it still raw, they cook when you place them into the boiling water ☺️
Hi Nagi, can you use chicken stock instead of broth? Thank you
Hi Erin, yes stock is the same as broth ❤️
Just made the pork and prawn wonton soup today, so enjoyable to make. Thankyou for the recipe, they were perfect.
Wahoo! So glad you liked it Alana!
Can I substitute chicken for the pork?
You sure can – just make sure it’s not lean minced chicken or your wontons might be a bit dry! ☺️
Ol I’m gonna try ot
You’ll love it!
Wonderful! Easy to make, tasteful and oh so marvellous to eat! I’ve finaly found THE Wonton Soup recipe! Thank you so much for this recipe and so many others, I tried several so far and I enjoyed them all! Hello from Canada 😉
We celebrated the new year with your Won Ton Soup. It was a big hit. The broth was flavorful, and the won tons were delicious. This might be the start of a new family tradition.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
This recipe was absolutely amazing!
Made the Wonton soup. Yep, it’s better than anything out there, any place, any time. To me a real comfort food.
I had never made or had wonton soup before. This was an incredibly yummy soup for a cold winters night. I will definitely make this again and again. My husband rarely has seconds , and isn’t a fan of leftovers, but he filled his bowl twice and has already planned the remaining soup will be going in his thermos for his lunch tomorrow.
That’s great to hear!!! ❤️
Délicieux!!! I also try frying them and it was also delicious! Thank you for the excellent recipe! And the explications for the wrapping and also the notes. I am not a good cook but I desesperatly keep trying and with all the details you gave I was able to achieve a good wonton soup 🙂
Glad to hear you enjoyed this Julie!! Thanks for sharing your feedback – N x
Can I make wonton with stuffing meat and shrimp and cook and freeze them for winter ?t
Is the filling precooked prior to filling or does it cook that quick when boiling?
Yup it cooks that quick! 🙂 N x
Hi! I love your recipes! Have tried quite a few of yours and they always turn out to be delicious and yummy! I tried your gyoza, wonton soup, crispy mashed potato, honey soya chicken, honey mustard chicken, marinated beef and I look forward to cook more from your recipes.
Keep it up! You make cooking so much easy and simple! 😘
I will never stop! 🙂 N x
Hi I tried the recipe and I loved it:-) I did however make a huge quantity and I was wondering 2 things:
Do I need to defreeze before cooking?
If I cook is it possible to freeze again (I only used fresh porc) and if yes what shoild I do when defrosting again?
I have just discovered your site and I really loved what I have tried up to now
HI Catherine! Please see directions under Cooking / Freezing for directions for how to do this. I do not recommend freezing again once thawed and cooked, please thaw only as much as you need! N x
Can you fry these and eat alone or with rice instead of making a soup!
You sure can Chanel! Deep frying them would be fabulous! N x
This turned out to be very tasty. Thank you!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this Jenny! Thanks for letting me know – N x