I love soup. Winter, Summer, morning or night; there is something so soothing about a nice warm bowl of homemade soup. It’s the perfect meal; one bowl, one utensil, one nice full belly.

After making the pesto and goat cheese appetizers last weekend, I still had half a package of wonton wrappers to find a use for. Having just used them in a non-traditional manner, I thought perhaps I should consider using them for their intended purpose. I had never made a dumpling or ravioli before, but since wonton soup happens to be one of my daughter’s most favorite foods, I was willing to give it a shot.

It turns out that making won tons is not only fairly easy to do but also quite gratifying. My homemade wontons actually looked and tasted like the take out version, only infinitely better. The wrappers were thinner, which made for lighter wontons, the pork filling was fresh and flavorful and the soup was really delicious with the addition of shrimp, Napa cabbage and a touch of sesame oil.

Attempting something for the first time only to discover that it’s both easy and rewarding is such a lovely surprise. I’m still marveling at just how simple and tasty this wonton soup was and how much my entire family enjoyed it. And rest assured, I will absolutely be making it again soon.

Shrimp & Wonton Soup
I added shrimp and Napa cabbage to my version of this soup. But straw mushrooms, a bit of broccoli or thin sliced carrots would work as well.

10 cups of chicken broth
1 pkg. wonton wrappers
1 bunch of green onions
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb. ground lean pork
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. tamari soy sauce
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
24 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups of Nappa cabbage, shredded
additional tamari soy sauce and sesame oil, for garnish

1. Slice the green onions and set aside all but 3 tbsp., finely chop those and put in a large bowl. Add to the bowl the pork, sesame oil, tamari, garlic, egg, salt and pepper. With a fork, throughly mix the filling together.
2. Spoon a generous 1/2 tsp. of filling into the center of a wonton wrapper. Lightly moisten the front edges of the wrap with water and fold the wrapper in half (into a triangle shape) and press together to seal. Moisten the front two corners with water, bring them together (overlapping them) and press to seal. Set completed wontons aside and cover with a damp paper towel until ready to cook.
3. In a large pot, bring the broth to a boil. Drop the wontons into the boiling broth and allow to cook for 4 minutes or until they float to the surface.
4. Once all the wontons have floated to the surface reduce the heat to simmer and add the shrimp and cabbage. Simmer for 2 minutes, until the cabbage softens a bit and the shrimp turns pink.
5. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the remaining green onion, a drizzle of sesame oil and a splash of tamari.

*adapted from nasoya.com