Wontons and Sui Gow Dumplings...

I can't even begin telling you how much I love wonton noodle soup. It has all the elements of heaven in a bowl- my ultimate favourite and nostalgic comfort food! The intoxicating aroma and flavour from the love poured into making the finest soup, the gorgeous pillowy morsels of savoury shrimp, pork and chives and the chewy strands and tangles of long noodles. The most fondest memories as a child was sitting around the kitchen table with my family preparing them together. Mom was always the one cooking that mouth-watering homemade broth (see below for a pork and chicken bone broth recipe) and dad in charge of compiling the filling. My brother, sister and I would sit there eagerly with wonton skin in hand and a spoonful of filling in the other, and go as fast as our little fingers could wrap them. Sigh... those were the days... However, in this household so far we've had more than our share of wontons go through the kitchen, and it has become a favourite mainstay with my kids too. One that hopefully when they are old enough to help me out, that they too will have fond nostalgic thoughts when they're all grown up and think back about our time together bonding over wontons... And secondly, so blessed I get to teach it outside too!!

There are two kinds I often make-- wontons that is wrapped smaller with pork, shrimps, black mushroom fungus and chives, and the other is its big heartier cousin shrimp dumplings, called "sui gow" in Cantonese (水饺). These are large boiled Chinese soup dumplings that literally translates to "water dumplings", made out of shrimps- chopped and minced, pork, black mushroom fungus and bamboo shoots. So which one do I make in my cooking class? Why choose, when we can make both :D

Side Note: As one of the contributing authors to a global cookbook collaboration The Taste of The Place, I am super excited to share with you my stories and favourite recipes in the China chapter- and of course wontons, my favourite all-time foods is one of the four recipes. 

Wonton Soup in The Taste of The Place

Here are the dibs to making a delicious Pork and Chicken Bones Broth (my mother taught me to cook both kinds of bones together for a harmonious savoury and sweet broth):

Bring a pot of water to a boil; add a teaspoon of salt and two slices of ginger. Add pork neck bones (this premium cut is famously used in Korean Spicy Pork Bone Soup Gamjatang for its hearty meat). Bring the water back to a boil for two to three minutes, then drain it over a strainer. Rinse the bones under cold running water and wash between the crevices to rid gelatinous fat and any grit. Discard the ginger slices. Rinse the pot, add water and bring it back to a boil with the blanched bones. Add the chicken carcass or bones (trimming extra fat and skin). Cover and reduce heat to medium-low to cook for two hours. Skim the layer of fat and scum that builds up on the surface periodically to achieve a clean broth. To season the soup without adding more salt, I usually use salted turnip slices. They can be found in the preserved vegetable aisle in Asian supermarkets. One large piece sliced into thin strips adds a nice savoury salty flavour and texture to the broth when added at the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Often, I top a meaty bone along with my noodle soup and enjoy it dipped with soy sauce and sesame oil. If there are leftovers, the bones would continue to flavour the soup making it even more tastier the next day. Flavour on flavour!

Salted turnip slices perfectly seasons the soup.

Certainly in my element with wontons... feeling like a champ right here lol!

At my TDSB Learn4Life Chinese Cooking Program

Two mixtures ready to wrap and seal.

(L) Sui Gow Dumplings and Pork and (R) Shrimp Chives Wontons 

The key to sui gow dumplings is the springy bounce with each bite. To do this, you would mix minced shrimp (minced finely with a knife until close to a paste) to the pork and mix well with a pair of chopsticks, raking the meat mixture back and forth for several minutes to create a sticky blended mixture. Scroll below for the full recipe and see this Post for more.

Wontons in the making.... Hung Wang is my favourite brand of wrappers and noodles. Full recipe below.

I am so lucky under TDSB Learn4Life to work with these AmaZing seniors in a Chinatown community centre every week to create all sorts of Chinese savouries! Especially those foods I loved since childhood. Always ecstatic when I hear how they made their own versions, or shared my recipes with their friends... Music to my ears and heart!

The gorgeous wontons and water dumplings made by the collaboration of my very hands-on students! 

Sui Gow dumplings coming to a floating boil and baby bak choy added to the soup for a bit of veggies.

This is also a great recipe for your kids to help with the dumpling wrapping and build on their finger dexterity. My kids love helping me and they feel extra special when they boast during dinner how they prepared our meal together :).

My youngest insisted on helping! :D

Wontons and water dumplings are made regularly in my kitchen. Making a full batch to eat some fresh and freeze the rest for another family meal on a whim. See below recipes for tips on freezing.

Sui Gow dumplings with noodles in soup.

Eat the hunky pork meat off the bones too! Dip them in soy sauce with a bit of sesame oil. YUM!

Happy happy boy, enjoying the dumplings he had part making.

If you have leftover meat mixture, make them into meat patties and pan-fry in a little oil. These were from the sui gow filling from my cooking class. You can really get the springy texture (Cantonese calls it "dan ngah"-- which translates to bounce teeth)... cause yeah they were lol.

Full Recipes:

Pork and Shrimp Chive Wontons
Makes about 70 dumplings

1 lb. lean ground pork
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. fish or chicken bouillon/seasoning powder
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine
400 g raw shrimp, shelled, cleaned, rinsed and chopped
1/3 cup dried black mushroom fungus slice, rehydrated in water for 1 hour, drained and chopped
1 handful Chinese chives, finely chopped or 4 green onions, finely chopped
1-1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 package of wonton wrappers (I like the Hung Wang brand)

Season ground pork in a large bowl with salt, pepper, seasoning powder, soy sauce, sesame oil and cooking wine; incorporate well. Add shrimps, mushroom fungus and chives and mix well. Add cornstarch and mix again. Wrap and chill at least one hour for flavours to meld.

Assemble wontons right before cooking. Place 1 Tbsp. filling in centre of wonton wrapper. Wrap the skin upwards to encase the filling and pinch at the top to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Cook immediately and freeze the remainder (see tip). Do not refrigerate or they will get moist and stick to the plate.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully add the wontons and cook for three to four minutes or until all the wontons are floating. Remove with a large slotted spoon or strainer.

TIP: Place a plastic wrap on the bottom of a Tupperware or reusable plastic container. Lay 

the wontons in a single layer. Then, cover with plastic wrap to add a second layer. Place another plastic wrap before closing with lid. Can be frozen up to two months if properly sealed.


Sui Gow Dumplings
Makes about 70 dumplings

1 lb. lean ground pork
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. fish or chicken seasoning powder
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. cooking wine
1-1/2 packages of 400 g raw shrimp, shelled, cleaned, rinsed and patted dry
1/3 cup dried black mushroom fungus slice, rehydrated in water for 1 hour, drained and chopped
1/2 cup of chopped bamboo shoots
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 package of wonton wrappers (I like the Hung Wang brand)

Season ground pork in a large bowl with salt, pepper, seasoning powder, soy sauce, sesame oil and cooking wine; incorporate well.

Coarsely chop the shrimps. Take half and mince well with a sharp knife. Add the minced shrimp to the pork and mix well with a pair of chopsticks, raking the meat mixture back and forth for several minutes to create a sticky blended mixture. Add the cornstarch, remaining chopped shrimps, mushroom fungus and bamboo shoots and continue to rake the mixture until well distributed. Wrap and chill at least one hour for flavours to meld.

Assemble dumplings right before cooking. Wet the top triangle of the wrapper with your finger tip dipped in water. Spoon 1-1/2 Tbsp. filling in centre of wonton wrapper. Wrap the bottom triangle upwards to encase the filling and pinch at seams to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Cook immediately and freeze the remainder (see tip). Do not refrigerate or they will get moist and stick to the plate.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully add the wontons and cook for three to four minutes or until all the dumplings are floating. Remove with a large slotted spoon or strainer.

FREEZING TIP: Lay the dumplings slightly overlapping if there are many on a baking tray and freeze for 20 minutes; this will prevent sticking. Then, place a plastic wrap on the bottom of a Tupperware or reusable plastic container. Lay the dumplings in a single layer. Then, cover with plastic wrap to add a second layer. Place another plastic wrap before closing tightly with lid. Can be frozen for two months if properly sealed.