Cantonese Wonton Noodles 廣東雲吞麵

Ingredients

• 300 g Shrimp
• 100 g Pork (, hand chopped)
• 50 g Pork fat (, finely diced)
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Light soy sauce
• 1 ½ tbsp Flounder fish powder
• ½ tsp White pepper powder
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp Fish sauce ((optional))
• 2 tsp Sesame oil
• 2 tsp Cornstarch
• 1 pkg Wonton wrappers
• 1 pkg Wonton noodles
• 2 Dried flounder fish
• 600 g Pork bones
• 30 g Dried shrimp
• 100 g Beansprouts
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce ((optional))
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
• 2.5 L Water
• 3 sprigs Chinese yellow chives
• ½ tsp Sesame oil ((per bowl))
• 1 Shallot (, course chopped)
• 1 stalk Green onions (, chopped)
• 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp Oil
• 2 tsp Sesame oil

Steps

1. 1

   Wipe the dried flounder fish with a damp cloth to remove dust and other debris

2. 2

   Put the flounder fish on a baking rack and bake at 150˚C or 300˚F for 10 minutes on each side. Set aside

3. 3

   Wash 30 g of dried shrimp and set aside

4. 4

   Bring a pot of water to a boil. Use approx. 4 L of water

5. 5

   Put the pork bones into the boiling water for 5 minutes.

6. 6

   Remove from water and submerse in cold water to loosen bone fragments. Rinse off loose parts with water and set aside

7. 7

   Fill a pot with 2.5 L water

8. 8

   Put the flounder, pork bones and dried shrimp into the pot and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring it to a low simmer. Do not let the soup boil. Boiling will make the soup cloudy. A good wonton noodle soup is clear and flavourful

9. 9

   When you see tiny bubbles starting to form, add beansprouts, turn the heat to simmer and let it simmer for 4 hours

10. 10

    In a pan, turn heat to low and add 2 tsp of the flounder fish powder and toast it for a few minutes until you can smell the aroma. Turn off heat and set aside

11. 11

    Wash and devein shrimp and put into a mixing bowl. The ratio of the filling should be 70% shrimp, 20% pork fat and 10% lean pork. (I decided to use 20% lean pork and 10% pork fat as seen in the photo because I felt guilty about using that much pork fat). Fresh shrimp is best but frozen shrimp works as well. I used frozen shrimp and I used one per wonton. Cantonese wonton wrappers are small, so you may need to cut each shrimp into a few pieces.

12. 12

    Finely dice the pork fat and put it into the mixing bowl

13. 13

    Dice the pork and then chop it until it’s pasty. Usually will take 5 minutes of chopping. Put it in the mixing bowl

14. 14

    Add 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp toasted flounder powder, ½ tsp white pepper powder, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp light soy sauce and 1 tsp fish sauce. Mix with your hands. Add 2 tsp sesame oil and mix again

15. 15

    Pick up the contents in the mixing bowl in your hand and drop it back into the mixing bowl. Do this around 20 times to give the shrimp filling some elasticity and help it to bind together. If using frozen shrimp, it will not be likely that the shrimp will bind with the pork but that’s okay.

16. 16

    Let the filling marinate for around 30 minutes

17. 17

    Take a wonton wrapper and put it in a diamond position

18. 18

    Put some filling in the lower centre part of the wrapper Bear in mind that Cantonese wontons should be bite-size, so not too big

19. 19

    Use the knife or spoon that you’re using to pick up the filling to rub some of the filling residual on the bottom point of the wrapper to act as glue

20. 20

    Fold the bottom point over the filling and just under the top point The top point and bottom point do not meet in order to create a “goldfish tail”

21. 21

    Use the knife or spoon to rub some of the wet filling on the sides of the wonton wrapper to help it stick when you gently squeeze the wrapper together Don’t worry if the filling is not completely sealed. If you use a big pot of boiling water to cook the wontons, the filling will not fall out

22. 22

    It’s very important to not squeeze too tightly. You want the filling to be loose as opposed to the filling being packed tightly

23. 23

    Repeat until all the filling has been used and set aside

24. 24

    Wontons can be freezed at this point. Remember to dust the bottom of the plate with flour or cornstarch before you put the wontons on it to be freezed

25. 25

    After 4 hours, your soup should be quite flavourful so you can remove all the solids from the soup with a strainer

26. 26

    Add 2 tbsp fish sauce (optional), 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp light soy sauce. Taste and make adjustments

27. 27

    Bring the soup to a boil and then turn to simmer

28. 28

    Wipe Chinese yellow chives and cut into 2 cm pieces. Set aside

29. 29

    Bring a big pot of water, approx. 4-5 L to a boil A big pot of water ensures that the water temperature doesn’t drop too much when you put in the wontons. If the temperature is too low, the wontons wrapper will get mushy

30. 30

    Prepare bowls. Add some Chinese chives and sesame oil to the bowls. A little bit of soy sauce can also be added to the bowl

31. 31

    Put the wontons in the boiling water for approx. 2-3 minutes until done. Remove from water and place in bowls

32. 32

    Turn the heat up on the soup. It should be around 90˚C or 194˚F when you add it to the bowl

33. 33

    Prepare a large mixing bowl filled with water. It will be used to give the noodles a rinse after it is cooked for the first time

34. 34

    When the water is boiling, add the wonton noodles. Cook for approx. 2 minutes or until done

35. 35

    Submerse the noodles in the water in the mixing bowl, give it a quick swirl, and put it back into the boiling water to reheat. Remove and put it into the bowl with the wontons

36. 36

    Use a ladle to pour the soup into the bowl of wonton noodles

37. 37

    Serve with Chinese red vinegar and/or chili oil sauce

38. 38

    Heat a sauce pan or small pot using medium-high heat.

39. 39

    Put 2 tbsp of oil and add chopped shallots and the white parts of the green onions

40. 40

    Fry until aromatic. Bring heat down to low

41. 41

    Add 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar and mix until sugar is dissolved

42. 42

    Turn off heat and add 2 tsp of sesame oil

43. 43

    Add the rest of the green onions

44. 44

    Pour over wontons and/or noodles