Chicken and prawn wonton noodle soup

Who doesn't love a wonton soup? I think everyone loves it right?

It's filling, has HEAPS of flavor and texture, and you can really make it any way you like.

For this particular one I chose to mix chicken and prawn instead of the more common pork and prawn, just because I had some spare ground chicken in my fridge.

As for the soup, you can cook these in a pre-made stock for a deeper flavor, but I just used the cooking water in with some seasoning in a bowl as I'm quite time poor so this was the best option for me.

Even with the time saving, this is still a recipe that takes time, but believe me, it's worth it.

Prep time: 40 mins (30 mins is for rehydrating the mushrooms)

Cooking time: 5 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Wontons

50g ground chicken

50g ground prawns

1 tsp white pepper

2 tsp corn starch

2 tsp sesame oil

3 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and finely chopped

2cm piece of ginger, sliced and pounded to release flavor

1 spring onion, sliced half lengthways, then finely chopped

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp oyster sauce

Salt to taste

Olive oil spray

Soup (per bowl)

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp chicken stock powder

1 tsp soy sauce

250g fresh egg noodles

9 wonton wrappers

1 bunch bok choi or kailan

Fresh chili, chopped (optional)

Chili oil (optional)

Method

1. Take your shiitake mushrooms and place in hot water with the ginger, and let steep for 20-30 mins, or until mushrooms have rehydrated and softened.

2. While the mushroom is rehydrating, mix the remaining wonton ingredients except for the spring onion in a bowl, until well combined.

3. When the mushrooms are rehydrated, squeeze any remaining water inside them into the soaking bowl, finely chop and cook for 2 minutes on a hot fry pan with the spring onion before adding to your wonton mixture. If you find your wonton mixture is a bit dry, add some of the mushroom soaking liquid to loosen it slightly.

4. Take a wonton wrapper in your hand, and place 1/3-1/2 teaspoon of wonton mixture in the center. With the soaking water, wet the edges of the wonton wrapper with your fingers, then seal shut, making a triangle shape, ensuring there are no air bubbles. Bring the two long pointed corners of the wonton triangle at the bottom together, so they create the wonton shape, and set aside. Alternatively, you can fold it over into a rectangle, and seal the edges to the front. Repeat with all wontons.

5. Next, take your serving bowls and fill each with the soup ingredients.

6. Bring a saucepan of water to boil, then cook your noodles in the water. If they're fresh it should only take a couple of minutes. Remove the noodles, and divide them into your bowls.

7. Next add your greens, blanching them so they're cooked but still have crunch, and then add these too to your bowls.

8. Lastly, add your wontons to the same boiling water used to cook the noodles and greens. Once the wontons have cooked for 3 minutes and have turned an orange colour indicating the prawn is cooked, lift the out and place in your bowls, this recipe makes enough for 3 wontons per bowl.

9. Ladle the hot boiling water into your bowls, and mix together, ensuring the seasoning at the bottom of the bowl is well distributed.

10. Serve with chili on top.

Notes

• You can omit the mushrooms or use fresh mushrooms to cut down the time. I just used the dehydrated ones because they have a more intense flavor. You can also season the mushrooms while frying them off if you choose.

• If you already have a delicious chicken stock, feel free to cook your noodles, greens and wontons in the stock OR follow the recipe above, but pour in the chicken stock instead of the water as your soup base. Remember, if you do it this way, you do NOT need to have the dry seasonings in your bowl before hand.

• Once the soup is all combined, you can add as much soy sauce, chili or other ingredients to customize it to your taste.

• For vegetarian options, replace the meat/seafood with tofu.