Vegan Wonton Soup
Wonton soup is one of the staples of Chinese-American cuisine. It’s standard on almost all Chinese restaurants catering to non-Chinese clientele, and with good reason. It’s familiar yet exotic. Broth with noodles and vegetables, similar enough to a standard chicken noodle soup to offer up a bowl of comfort on a cold winter’s day while still allowing the least adventurous amongst us to make a brief foray into the world of exotic flavours and seasonings.
While wontons exists in China in multitude of variations, a typical American-Chinese wonton would be filled with pork or shrimp and boiled in a meat-based broth, or fried and served with a dipping sauce. I never tried to make wontons at home until now.
VEGAN WONTON SOUP
For the wontons
1 pkg vegan wonton wrappers (see note)
5 dried shiitake mushrooms
2 cups water
100 grams (3.5 oz) extra-firm tofu, pressed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 green onion, chopped
For the wonton soup
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups mushroom soaking liquid
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups cabbage, shredded
2 green onions, chopped
For the wontons
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the dried shiitake mushrooms. Allow to rehydrate for 30 minutes. Once re-hydrated, chop mushrooms into small pieces. Reserve mushroom
soaking liquid.
Place tofu, ginger, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Place tofu in a bowl and add the chopped mushrooms, soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onion.
Take one wonton wrapper and lay it out in a diamond shape in front of you. Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the wrapper, dip your finger in a little water and moisten the top two edges of the wrapper. Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner, making a triangle. Gently press down on the filling to squeeze out the air, then press the edges together to seal. Take the left and right sides of the triangle and pull them down and towards each other, making a loop at the bottom of the wonton. Moisten the edges and press to seal.
For the wonton soup
Combine the vegetable stock and mushroom soaking liquid in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the garlic and ginger. Add the wontons and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until the wontons float, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and cabbage. Serve in bowls garnished with green onion.