Shrimp Wonton Soup (鲜虾云吞)

Ingredients

• 10 oz shrimp (, peeled and deveined)
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon ginger (, grated)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 small carrot
• 1 scallion white (, thinly sliced)
• 1 pack wonton wrappers (, thawed if using frozen (*Footnote 1))
• 4 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 4 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons papery shrimp ((Optional))
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 scallion green (, sliced (for garnish))

Steps

1. 1

   Prepare the filling: Chop shrimp into very small pieces, then mince until it forms a coarse paste. Add egg white, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, white pepper, ginger, salt and cornstarch. Mix until it forms a sticky paste.

2. 2

   Use a fine cheese grater to grate the carrot, until you get a loosely packed 1/4 cup. You can also julienne the carrot then mince it if you don’t have a grater. Add the carrot and scallion white to the shrimp and mix well.

3. 3

   Wrap the wontons: Work on the wontons one at a time. Wet the edges of the wrapper. Place about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper into a triangle, then press the edges tightly to seal the filling. Bind both ends and press them together to lock the filling inside the wrapper (See the pictures in my blog post above). Place the wrapped wontons onto a prepared tray, a finger’s width apart. (Now you can store the wontons if not used immediately. See blog post above for storage tips)

4. 4

   Make sure to use a wet paper towel or clean wet kitchen towel to cover the wonton wrappers and the wrapped wontons, to prevent them from drying out.

5. 5

   Prepare the soup base: Divide the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and papery shrimp into four medium soup bowls.

6. 6

   Cook the wontons: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the wontons in two batches if you plan to use them all. Or only cook the number you plan to serve. When the big pot of water comes to a boil, add half of the wontons. Stir gently and consistently with a spatula to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. Cook until the wontons are floating on top, then continue cooking for another 2 minutes.

7. 7

   Assemble the wonton bowls: Transfer 5 or 6 wontons into each of the prepared serving bowls. Add 1 cup wonton boiling water into each bowl and stir to mix well. Drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with scallion greens. Serve hot.