The other day I went to the store and felt a hint of kinetic excitement brewing in my gut. It happens every year, just when I feel like my general enthusiasm has waned, hints of spring arrive. All over social media I see people celebrating that spring has sprung and I cling to the lingering crone of winter, thinking, “I’m not ready yet.” And then it happens. Thick rods of asparagus appear standing guard like soldiers over the other vegetables. Artichokes, bulbous and blooming, casually assert themselves. Bright red radishes shine like rubies among green emeralds and morels with fissures like the brain spring from the earth like firing synapses. Even the fish counter reflects the earliest signs of shad fish breeding, cockles and soft shell crabs. Something in me slowly melts and I begin to celebrate too. At one point, while cutting up a fennel I even ran into the other room and waved it in my husband’s face, with its alien hairy tubes and sweet licorice scent exclaiming, “Can you believe this actually exists?!” That’s the kind of excitement we’re talking about here, folks.
We’re still in the early parts of spring, but, oh things are about to get good. That is a cause for celebration. And so when I saw this spring wonton soup on Kathleen’s blog, I knew it was something I wanted to try. Folding wontons has always intimidated me, but really, it couldn’t be easier. She has a video tutorial that shows how easy this is and it’s actually kind of cathartic when you get into a rhythm. I used chicken and arugula in my fillings, but the combinations are endless.
Putting these wontons together reminded me what an act of faith cooking something or doing something out of your wheelhouse is. Like any other act of creation, it requires a kind of persistence, fosters personal growth and demands some sort of hope. And it results in expansion and breadth, of thought, of knowledge, of self, really… kind of like springtime!
SPRING WONTON SOUP
Adapted closely from Hapa Nom Nom
INGREDIENTS:
For the Broth:
- 8 cups good quality chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 inch piece ginger, thinly sliced
For the Wontons:
- 2 scallions, white and green parts separated
- ½ teaspoon ginger, finely grated (if you don’t grate it you’ll get a big overwhelming bite of ginger, guaranteed)
- 1 large garlic clove
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 4 ounces ground chicken
- ½ cup arugula
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- Kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 6 ounce package of square wonton wrappers
- all-purpose flour for dusting
Vegetables:
- 1 small bunch asparagus, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ⅔ cup spring peas
DIRECTIONS:
In a large sauce pan, add the broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sliced ginger. Bring the contents to a boil and then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
In a food processor – add the white parts of the scallions and the remaining ingredients for the wonton filling. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pulse until finely chopped and fully incorporated.
Cover the stack of wonton wrappers with a slightly damp paper towel, prepare a small bowl of water for sealing the wrappers, and lightly sprinkle a baking sheet with flour. Working with one wrapper at a time, place 1 level teaspoon of filling in the bottom third of the wrapper. Roll the bottom a ⅓ of the way up and then again another ⅓ of the way up. Leave the last ⅓ of the wrapper sticking up. Then taking one of your fingers, dip it in the water and dab the two bottom corners. Bring those two bottom corners together and press to seal. (Check out the video above for the how-to visual). Place the completed wontons on the prepared baking sheet and be sure to keep them covered under a slightly damp paper towel.
To cook the wontons, bring a large pot of unsalted water to a boil.
Once the pot of water comes to a boil, turn it down to a simmer. (You don’t want the agitation of the bubbles to break open the wontons). When all of the wontons are completed add them to the pot of water and cook until they float to the top. Be sure to give them a gentle stir when you first add them to make sure they don’t stick.
While the wontons are cooking, remove the slices of ginger from the broth and reheat. Once it comes back to a boil add the asparagus and peas – cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon or spider, remove the wontons and divided them evenly among the bowls. Pour the broth with the veggies over top and garnish with the remaining sliced scallions (green parts). Serve immediately and enjoy!
NOTES:
- Even though you’re placing the wonton filling in the food processor, make sure you still finely grate the ginger. It will insure that you don’t bite into any large chunks.
- If you’d like, you can use ground pork or tofu instead of chicken.
- You can make the wontons ahead of time and freeze for up to 2 months. Simply lay them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze. Once they’re frozen, transfer them to a zip-top bag.
- If you’re not eating them immediately, but don’t want to freeze, cover in an airtight container and refrigerate until you’re ready to use them for up to a day or two.
- If you don’t want to put them in soup and just eat them alone, do so! Just boil them until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes, or steam them until cooked. Serve with vegetables.
Ok now you have my attention. One of my favorites – Wonton soup. You made it ever so special with seasonal ingredients. It always amazing to me how different cultures have similar foods.Tortellini are not far removed from the wonton, etc. This looks delicious and I am sure we will really like your recipe. Great photos also.
Thanks, Jovina. I agree with you about tortellini! I recently read a book about the history of the noodle and whether it was Italian or Chinese. She didn’t really find the answer but learned so much about the cultures. I do love wonton soup and these were delicious!
Amanda, you have such a lovely way of writing and it only makes me even more excited about the season! I’m so glad you liked my Spring Vegetable Wonton Soup enough to adapt it for your blog! I’m seriously loving the peppery addition of arugula (love that stuff) and your photos are just beautiful.
Thank you so much, Kathleen! Your recipe was such an inspiration. Without your video I never would have ventured to make these. I’ve been reading your blog for a while and have made lots of delicious meals and sides from you. This soup was soooo good. We’ve been eating as a meal, as an appetizer, etc. I love it! Keep up the good work. You’re amazing!
They look absolutely delicious – I’m still relatively full from lunch, but I could eat a bowl of your wonton soup now! Spring has definitely sprung here, it’s sunny and quite pleasant outside 🙂
Thanks, MD! This soup is best served steaming, burn your toungue, hot. It’s so good. You sound quite content, full and sunny 🙂
Full of the joys of spring 😉
this is so delightfully spring! it’s still kinda nippy out so soup is appropriate but then you add in the verdant vibrancy of greens and it’s the best of both worlds!
Thanks, Lan! I totally agree. The steam warms you up and the spring veg reminds you of what’s coming. The wontons are killer. I’m just loving this one for some reason. xo
This soup looks lovely! I love the sight of peas and asparagus in your recipe and photos. I feel the same way about this time of year–there is definitely a feeling of excitement in the air–long-dormant feelings waking back up. 🙂 Happy spring to you, Amanda! 🙂
Thank you, Jenny! Yes it’s like a little movement, cautious because it’s still cold, but it’s there. It’s amazing how you get used to being creative with what’s around and then, boom, spring! I kind of love it. The soup keeps me warm until it’s full on spring though. Happy spring to you!
Hahaha!!
I am ALL about that kind of excitement, Yes!!!
And this gif is so freakin neat, Amanda, I love that you did this!
That’s awesome that you’re feeling it too! Thanks for the gif cred! No one else has said anything and that took all of my learning power (the camera, the editing, the learning how to put it on repeat)! Now that I did it once, I’ll keep refining it. This post was so much fun to make. xoxo
This is definitely an ideal way of dealing with the transitional weather that is typical around where I live–some days it hits over 70, and some days we’re lucky to break 50. Filing this away for one of the latter days to make soon!
Thanks, Elizabeth. You’re so right. You’ve got the spring vegetables and a steaming hot soup. This transition season is tough sometimes. Today I walked to work and was sweating in my coat, but last night I was FREEZing in the very same coat!
This looks wonderful! I gave up rolling my wontons up because I tended to over stuff them. I like your method!
Thanks, Debbie! I definitely over stuffed the first few and then it just became natural. Now I want to learn all the other rolling methods. The more you learn, the more you want to learn, and then you want things easy…humans!
I giggled at the image of you waving fennel in your husband’s face! Love your enthusiasm and this marvelous soup reflects it. The fresh green veggies in your photos just pop and are such a happy sign of spring.
I really did take that fennel into the other room and made him smell it and look at it! Spring is coming….I hope you’ve got some good stuff in store for spring.
Wonderful spring recipe! So simple and yet sophisticated and full of flavors. I love the sound of the filling, and the idea of you running around being overwhelmed by the miracle of the existence of fennel. I just returned from a few days in cold and rainy Paris where I had an amazing time with amazing people, and found an amazing (yes everything is amazing around here these days) shop where I found all sorts of rare seasonal produce. Hopefully I’ll be able to partake in your springtime revival on this side of the ocean with a few new recipes.
Thanks, Darya! I think this would be right up your alley because of its simplicity, yet it has so much flavor. Your cold rainy Paris days sound like they were made wonderful by good people and spring produce. Sometimes that’s really all you need. I love the tone of your voice lately, so full of excitement. Enjoy your spring bounty!
Gorgeous! Wonton soup, I love it and I have never made it myself because my mum makes it fantastically, lol. I am usually ready for spring because I hate winter, but this year I’m just continously sick and can’t seem to enjoy the fact that spring is coming 🙁 I love fennel and the smell of it so I can understand your excitement too.
Oh and I love your gif! It’s so great because the cycle is like make a wonton, then another, and another and another until you have about 100! xx
Sofia, I’ve been sick for a month! I had a brief reprieve the week I commented on your sneakers and then got sick again and just started feeling better this week. It’s out of character for me. I felt the same way until Monday when I finally got back to the gym and the store. I’m starting to come back to myself. Thanks re gif! It was fun to make. I think I’ll do more now that I figured it out. If my mom made wontons I never would either! And fennel is great. Thanks for stoppng by. Xo
Simply beautiful, as always. N xx
Thank you, Nicole. I hope you’re doing well. It’s always so great to hear from you.
Beautifully photographed – and how warming to the soul both the recipe and your words are 🙂
Thank you so much, Amy. What a beautiful compliment. Have a good week!
So gorgeous Amanda! I love the little video of your wonton folding, and your description of spring is so vibrant and full of life. We are heading into winter here so beetroot, pears and greens are becoming more available – don’t feel ready for the cold weather to hit!
Thanks so much! Ahh I hear you about winter. Today is near freezing and I could use some of this soup now. Pears are a good consolation for winter. Be well!
This does sound like a lovely ode to spring…delicious and fresh flavors.
Thank you, Karen. I hope you’re doing well.