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This Pork Wonton Soup is comforting, DELICIOUS, and just as good as any restaurant. We make homemade pork, scallion, and mushroom dumplings and then poach them in a simple soy sauce and sesame broth.
Pork Wonton Soup
Just as Chicken Noodle Soup will make you feel infinitely more cozy and happy with each slurp, so will our Pork Wonton Soup. With a salty, satisfying broth made of just a few simple ingredients, and the most delicious pork, scallion, and mushroom wontons, this version of comfort food just may be your ticket to happier and more delicious times.
Let’s readdress these pork wontons.
They are.delicious. They’re meaty, but full of vegetables, slightly spicy, and packed with ginger and garlic. Homemade wontons or dumplings may seem intimidating to make, but I promise, they are really easy, and if you can’t get the hang of the folding technique, all you really have to do is fold them over in a triangle (more on that later.).
If you’re looking for more of a throw-it-together kind of wonton or dumpling soup, you could also head on over to this Cheater Wonton Soup recipe that uses store-bought frozen potstickers instead of homemade.
The bulk of our homemade pork wontons is ground pork, chopped scallions, and shiitake mushrooms. While I wanted the forward flavor to be pork, I also wanted plenty of veggies hidden in there both for flavor and to stretch the fatty pork a little bit further.
Ingredients in Pork Wonton Soup
The combination of the pork, scallion, and mushroom is already really delicious, but for added flavor, we also throw in plenty of other Asian ingredients, here’s what you’ll need.
The pork wontons
Ground pork. A traditional dumpling or wonton almost always uses ground pork in some form. A lot of times it’s combined with shrimp, but for today, we just stuck with pork on its own since we combine it with plenty of vegetables.
Scallions. I LOVE scallions in soups, wonton, and dumplings, and it’s no exception here. I love the mild onion flavor it gives the pork wontons, and I also love that it adds a little bit of texture as well.
Shiitake mushrooms. Chopped shiitake mushrooms add a little bit of an umami factor to Pork Wonton Soup. They have an earthiness to them I adore, and I like that we don’t have to use as much fatty pork to fill the wontons.
Ginger and garlic. Ginger and garlic are probably the most forward flavors in these pork wontons. If ginger isn’t your thing, I’d suggest cutting it back by a teaspoon, because you will definitely taste it in the finished product.
Tamari. I’ve talked about tamari many many times here. Tamari is basically a less salty version of soy sauce, that to me, is a little bit more rich in flavor. It’s almost always what I use instead of soy sauce, but of course, soy sauce works as well.
Sesame oil. Sesame oil adds just a touch of nuttiness to the pork wonton soup and compliments the pork and scallion really nicely.
Sambal Oelek. I like a little bit of heat in my wontons, and sambal oelek is my favorite way to do that. It’s a very common condiment in Asian cooking, and adds a lovely spicy, tangy bite to dishes.
Rice vinegar.
The soup
The great thing about our pork wonton soup is pretty much all of the ingredients we use in the pork wontons or dumplings, we use in the soup, so you don’t need many additional ingredients.
- sesame oil
- onion
- shiitake mushrooms.
- ginger and garlic.
- chicken broth – always low sodium!!!
- spices/flavoring – Again we use tamari, rice vinegar, and salt
- beef bouillon – ok, so this isn’t an Asian ingredient, BUT just a little bit of beef bouillon adds a little bit of depth, and a really nice salty bite to the finished product. If you don’t have it or don’t want to buy it, you can leave it out, just make sure to season appropriately as it does add a good amount of saltiness.
Make the dumplings
Make the mixture. Add ground pork, scallions, chopped shiitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger, salt, tamari, sesame oil, sambal oelek, and rice vinegar to a medium bowl. Gently stir the mixture until combined.
Form the wontons or dumplings:
- Prep everything. Grab a baking sheet and line with parchment paper. Get your wonton wrappers out. Fill a small bowl with water.
- Place one wonton wrapper on a flat surface. The wrapper should have the corners facing up, down, left and right so you have a diamond.
- Spoon a scant 2 teaspoons of the filling on to the middle of the wrapper. Use your finger to gently wet all the edges of the wrapper. Fold the top corner up so you have a triangle. Get any air bubbles out and seal.
- Make sure the triangle’s flat edge is on top. Use your fingers to pull the two corners together while gently foldings the wonton down. Overlap the corners and use your finger to wet the middle so the corners stay glued together. You should have a little hat shape. (See photo.)
- Place finished dumplings on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel while you prepare the rest. Once they are all done, keep covered with a kitchen towel while you make the soup.
Make the soup
Sauté the veggies. Add a little bit of sesame oil to the bottom of a large stock pot. Heat to a medium-low heat and add mushrooms and chopped onion. Cook for a few minutes until slightly soft. Add the ginger and garlic. Cook another minute or two until the veggies are soft.
Add in soup ingredients. Pour in the chicken broth, tamari, salt, rice vinegar, and beef bouillon. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 2-3 minutes and then stir in spinach. Let the spinach wilt.
Cook the pork wontons. Gently lower in all of the pork wontons. Stir in between adding a few so they don’t stick to the bottom or each other. Continue to gently stir until all of them are in the broth. Simmer the broth and the pork wontons until they are cooked through, about 6 minutes.
Serve. Use a slotted spoon to gently transfer the wontons and veggies to bowls. Pour broth on top. Serve right away.
Can I eat the Wonton by themselves?
Yes! If you want to skip the soup and steam and pan-fry them, follow the instructions in this Easy Asian Dumpling Post.
Can Pork Wonton Soup be made in advance?
So here’s the deal. When you cook wontons, they need to be consumed very quickly. This is not one of those dishes you can make the day before from start to finish and then reheat the next day. Wonton wrappers are very delicate, and because of that, they can get mushy if they sit in liquid or cook for too long, so it’s really important to cook the wontons just before serving.
You could however, make the broth the day ahead and store it. You can also make the dumplings the day ahead, but hold off cooking them and either freeze or store in an airtight container for 24 hours until you’ll ready to serve the soup.
Substitutions and Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success
- If you can’t get the hang of folding the wontons, don’t sweat it! Just fold them over into triangles and seal. They will still taste exactly the same.
- Add in extra veggies such as shredded carrots, bok choy, or bean sprouts.
- Feel free to double or triple the amount of mushrooms in the broth.
- Even though some of the spice from the pork wontons will seep into the broth, if you want an even spicier broth, add in another teaspoon of the sambal oelek.
- Swap out the sambal oelek for sriracha or any other spicy chili paste.
- You can use soy sauce instead of tamari
For more Asian noodle dishes and soups, don’t miss these recipes
- This Coconut Curry Wonton Soup also uses homemade wontons, but has an addictive coconut curry broth instead. Sweet and spicy.
- Our Spicy Thai-Style Butter Ramen is one of my favorite dishes on the website. While it’s perfect for cooler months, I also enjoy it throughout the year.
- One of our favorite Asian noodle dishes is Ants Climbing on a Tree. It’s a tangy, spicy noodle dish packed with ground pork, cabbage and skinny noodles.
Pork Wonton Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms, divided
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 3/4 cup sliced scallions (about 6-7 scallions), divided
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp minced ginger, divided
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced and divided
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 2 tbsp + 1 tsp tamari, divided
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp sesame oil, divided
- 1 tsp sambal oelek (or other similar chili paste)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 20 wonton wrappers
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 40 oz low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/4 tsp beef bouillon
- 2 cups baby spinach
Equipment
- stock pot
Instructions
- Take about 1/2 cup of the sliced shiitakes and finely chop until you have 1/2 cup of mushrooms. You want the pieces to be very small. If you don't have 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms, chop more until you get there. Set aside and leave the remaining sliced mushrooms to the side for later.
- To a medium bowl, add the chopped mushrooms, groung pork, 1/2 cup sliced scallions, 1 tbsp minced ginger, half of the minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons tamari, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, sambal oelek, and 1 teaspoon rice vinegar. Mix with a fork or spoon until completely combined.
- Place a medium baking sheet out and line with parchment paper. Get your wonton wrappers out. Fill a small bowl with water.
- Place one wonton wrapper on a flat surface. The wrapper should have the corners facing up, down, left and right so you have a diamond. Spoon a scant 2 teaspoons of the filling on to the middle of the wrapper. Use your finger to gently wet all the edges of the wrapper. Fold the top corner down so you have a triangle. Get any air bubbles out and seal.
- Make sure the triangle's flat edge is on top. Use your fingers to pull the two corners together, while gently bending the wonton, overlap the corners and use your finger to wet the middle so the corners stay glued together. You should have a little hat shape. (See photo.)
- Place finished dumplings on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel while you prepare the rest. Once they are all done, keep covered with a kitchen towel while you make the soup.
- Heat a large stock pot to a medium-low heat. Add remaining tablespoon of sesame oil. Once the oil is hot, add onion and remaining shiitake mushrooms. Cook until the onion starts to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger. Continue to cook another 1-2 minutes until garlic and ginger are fragrant and starting to soften.
- Pour in chicken stock, remaining 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons tamari, 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and beef bouillion. Bring to a boil, simmer for 3-4 minutes. Stir in spinach.
- Once the spinach has wilted, gently add in wontons. Give it a gently stir to make sure none of the wontons stick to the bottom or each other. Continue to simmer until wontons are cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Add in remaining sliced scallions. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Gently spoon wontons into bowls. Cover with veggies and broth.
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