Pork and Kimchi Wonton Soup
Earlier this fall, I was invited by JSL Foods to enter the Twin Dragon Asian Wrapper Blogger Recipe Challenge. I love to create new recipes, so it didn’t take me long to join the challenge. Within a week, a package arrived at the farmhouse filled to the brim with their wrappers just waiting to be made into wontons, pot stickers, and eggrolls.
The egg roll recipe chose itself by virtue of the refrigerator holding leftover Bierock Skillet that seemed to be begging to be transformed into a German egg roll of sorts. I’m so glad that it did because Bierock Egg Rolls were delicious beyond measure and have now become a favorite here at the farmhouse.
Dumplings cooked pot sticker style were an easy choice because we have made those many times before although I had yet to share the recipe. I had to do a little digging to unearth the recipe from my enormous binder of recipes, but it was there. Once we made them again, I couldn’t understand why it had been so long since we had made them.
When it came to the wontons, I didn’t have any good ideas. It’s not that I couldn’t think of ways to use wontons. I’ve used wonton wrappers before to make delicate ravioli filled with a range of savory fillings. Back in the days before a shellfish allergy came to be a daily consideration, I made homemade crab rangoon. The wontons were proving to be the one item of the three that I was struggling to find the best use for.
So, I did what I usually do. I took an inventory of the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. I looked for components that I knew would work and a few that would be unexpected and hopefully add delicious texture or flavor to the filling. When I looked at the ingredients I had assembled on the kitchen counter, I knew that this recipe would either be a triumph or I’d be heading right back to the drawing board.
There was only one way to find out if these ingredients would create a delicious combination, so I set about to work with the ingredients and determine how much of each component should be in the final 
recipe. It took a bit of work to adjust the flavors and find the right mix, but with my daughter’s help, we formed dozens of wontons, steamed them, and tasted to see where we needed to adjust. Fortunately, my daughter loves Asian flavors as much as I do, so we had a lot of fun creating different versions of the recipe, and definitely enjoyed tasting each one to decide what modification to make next.
Instead of fresh cabbage which usually requires salting, draining, and a bit of working to incorporate into this sort of filling, I decided to use a bit of the homemade kimchi I had in the refrigerator. If you don’t have kimchi on hand, it is simple to make and also available in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores. I also used homemade sauerkraut on one of our trials when I found my kimchi jar was nearly empty. If you have difficulty finding kimchi, use an equal amount of homemade or storebought sauerkraut and simply add a bit or hot sauce, chili sauce, or your favorite spicy condiment to replicate the heat of kimchi. You’ll be able to add the same fermented cabbage flavor with equally delicious results.
When we finally hit the flavor jackpot, we celebrated by making ourselves an entire plate of steamed wontons for lunch. As we were enjoying our just rewards, we came up with the idea of making the base for our homemade egg drop soup and substituting these flavorful wontons for the egg. A few days later, we pulled a few of the frozen wontons from the freezer and did just that. The soup was so warm and comforting. It was full of flavor and just the thing we needed after a long, cold New England day.
These wontons are a recipe that I now keep stocked in the freezer at all times. They make a delicious lunch on their own and a wonderful way to make a quick pot of nourishing bone broth based soup into a flavorful feast.
This is just the sort of recipe that you can easily adjust to your liking, adding more of what you like until you find your favorite combination. When you do, I hope that you’ll share that combination with me so that we can try your version!
This recipe was created for the Twin Dragon Asian Wrapper Blogger Recipe Challenge. I was provided the eggroll wrappers used in this recipe as part of my participation in the recipe challenge. This post was not sponsored and I was not paid to use, review, or recommend the product. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to share a high quality brand with our readers. You can learn more about this product by visiting JSL Foods online, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can purchase JSL Foods Twin Dragon products at Albertsons, Shaw’s, Von’s, Stater Bros, Lucky’s, Food Maxx, Fred Meyer, QFC, Cub Foods, Rainbow Foods, Safeway, Associated Stores, Price Rite, Shop Rite, Winco, Price Chopper and Gelson’s.
1840 Farm abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. Compensation received from sponsors will never influence the topics or posts made on this blog. Sponsored posts will be clearly labeled as such. Product reviews will include our honest opinions about the product(s) reviewed. Products that do not meet our standards of daily use on our farm will not be reviewed. Samples of the products that I review are sent to me at no expense in order to allow me to use the product and evaluate its performance. The framework of our review process does not guarantee a positive review in exchange for the product provided. Our product reviews contain both facts about the product and my personal opinion of its performance while it was used at 1840 Farm.
Pork and Kimchi Wonton Soup
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup kimchi , drained and chopped
- 4 green onions , sliced thinly
- 1 Tablespoon ginger , peeled and grated
- ½ cup canned water chestnuts , drained and chopped
- ½ cup canned sliced bamboo shoots , drained and chopped
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
For the Wontons:
- 1 package Twin Dragon Asian Wonton Wrappers
For the Soup:
- 6 cups chicken bone broth or stock
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger root , peeled and grated
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup chicken bone broth or stock
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 Tablespoons chives or green onion , sliced finely
- sriracha and soy sauce for serving
Instructions
Prepare the Filling:
- Place the ground pork in a large bowl. Using a slotted spoon, drain the liquid away from kimchi before transferring it to a cutting board. Chop the drained kimchi roughly before adding to the pork. Add the remaining filling ingredients and knead or stir to evenly distribute the ingredients. The cornstarch will help to give the filling a velvety texture and handle any excess moisture from the kimchi. If you would like to test the filling for seasoning, fully cook a spoonful in a small skillet before tasting and adjusting the seasoning to your liking.
Form the Wontons:
- Prepare a baking sheet to hold the finished wontons by lining with parchment or freezer paper. Line your work surface with a second piece. This will make cleanup a breeze and prevent the wrappers from sticking as you work with them. Fill a small bowl with water.
- Wontons can be shaped in a variety of ways. They are often made into triangles before pulling the two opposite corners together to form a more compact shape. They can also be made into tiny purses by aligning the four edges together. Or, you can simply fold them in half diagonally to make a triangle. This is the simplest method and works perfectly when adding them to soups. The wrappers cook to tender perfection and you don’t spend hours trying to create beautifully shaped wontons only to hide them in a bowl of soup. No matter what shape you choose, they’ll taste delicious.
- To fill the wontons, place a teaspoon of filling in the center of a wrapper. I like to set up 4 or so at a time on my work surface to make this process move a little faster. Pick up one of the wrappers and rest it in the palm of your hand. Use the fingers of your opposite hand to lightly wet the edge of the wrapper with the water. Take care not to use too much water as that will make this task more difficult.
- Seal the mound of filling by folding the wrapper in half to create a triangle shape. Press out any air so that the wrapper lies flat against the filling. Seal the edge completely as any gaps will cause the filling to escape from the wrapper as it cooks. If you would like to shape the wontons, they can be made into any shape you wish. The most important feature is for the edges to be firmly sealed.
- Transfer the finished wontons to the lined tray taking care to prevent them from touching so that they don’t stick together. Continue filling and forming the wontons until you have used all the filling.
- Filled wontons can be frozen at this point. Simply place them in the freezer on the lined tray. I like to allow them to freeze solid for 2 hours or overnight. Transfer the frozen wontons to a freezer bag for long term storage. They can be cooked directly from the freezer by adding 2-3 minutes to the cooking time of fresh wontons.
- I like to cook the wontons directly in the soup. If you prefer to steam them separately or intend to eat them on their own, they can easily be steamed in a bamboo steamer placed over a pan of boiling water. Brush the steamer basket’s surface with a light coating of oil to prevent the tender wrapper from sticking and steam for 10 minutes. The wrappers will take on a soft texture and a translucent appearance. Serve with dipping sauces and enjoy them all on their own.
Make the Soup:
- In a large pot, combine the broth, ginger, and soy sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and ¼ cup broth, stirring until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture to the simmering broth, stirring or whisking to combine. After a few minutes of simmering, the broth will take on a velvety texture, thickening slightly.
- Add the chives or green onion to the soup and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and white pepper to your liking. Gently lower the wontons into the soup and adjust the heat as needed to simmer gently. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, moving the wontons gently to ensure that they do not stick together. Take care not to boil the soup too rapidly which might damage the tender wonton skins. The wontons should take on a translucent appearance and float to the top of the pot when they are fully cooked.
- Ladle into serving bowls, making sure to add plenty of wontons to each bowl. Garnish with a drizzle of soy sauce and sriracha if desired. Enjoy!