A Different Chicken Wonton
I was minding my own business one day, when a hankering for chicken noodle soup made me realize that chicken noodle soup is essentially the same as chicken wonton soup. Chicken meets noodley form, which meets soup. Hear me out:- Chicken Noodle Soup = chicken + noodles + carrots / celery + broth.
- Chicken Wonton Soup = chicken wrapped in a wrapper (hello, noodle!) + broth
From there, you saute some celery and carrots (de rigueur for any healing chicken noodle soup), add some low-sodium store-bought chicken stock (or stock from a prior homemade batch), and the result is a rich wonton soup that tastes like a slow cooked meal!
Wontons Are Best In Bulk
The best thing about making wontons (or dumplings!) at home is that you can make a big batch and save them for another day. Whenever we make wontons, we always have a bowl apiece for lunch, and save the rest for another day when we’re too tired to cook or need a satisfying brunch or snack. You can make these in advance for when a cold strikes or you just need a bowl of comfort food! All you have to do is place them on a parchment lined sheet pan so they’re not touching (wouldn’t want them to stick together!), cover the pan, freeze solid, and then transfer the frozen wontons to containers or freezer bags for long-term storage.
Chicken Wonton Noodle Soup: Recipe Instructions
We chopped boneless skinless chicken thighs to make the ground chicken for this recipe.
You can do so as well by following our instructions on how to grind meat without a grinder. Otherwise, you can just buy ground chicken from the supermarket.
Combine all the wonton ingredients (except for the wrappers) in a bowl. Stir thoroughly, mixing in one direction until the filling becomes well-combined and paste-like, about 10 minutes.
Prepare a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and get a small bowl of room temperature water. Lastly, bring a small pot of water to a boil, so you can taste test a couple wontons.
To assemble the wontons, take your square wonton wrapper, wet your finger, and dab one side of the square with water. Add 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the center, and gently fold the wrapper in half. Seal on all sides. Using your finger, brush another dab of water on one corner (of the filling side), and gently overlap the two corners of the rectangle by pressing them together. (Check out our step-by-step guide to folding wontons for more details!)
Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan.
Make one more wonton, boil, and taste test the two samples (we find that tasting two, and not just one, helps us get a better feel for the flavor and adjust seasoning more accurately). Make adjustments to taste before proceeding to make the whole batch.
With the wontons made, assemble the soup. This recipe uses just 5 cups of chicken broth with the expectation that you’ll freeze many of the wontons for another day. 5 cups of broth is enough for 4 servings.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a soup pot. Sweat the onions until they’re translucent. Add the carrots and celery, and cook for about 2 minutes.
Add the broth, and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring a separate pot of water to a boil for your wontons. Boil them for 5-6 minutes (for fresh wontons) or 7-8 minutes (for frozen wontons). Divide into bowls and top with the hot soup.
Recipe
Chicken Noodle Wonton Soup
This Chicken Noodle Wonton Soup has all the flavor of a traditional chicken noodle soup, with a delicious Asian twist!
Serves: 8
Ingredients
For the wontons:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/2 cup parsley (or to taste, finely chopped)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry cooking wine
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter (melted)
- 1 package wonton wrappers
For the soup:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/2 white onion (diced)
- 3 medium carrots (about 1 cup, diced)
- 3 stalks celery (about 1 cup, diced)
- 5 cups chicken broth
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Combine all the wonton ingredients (except for the wrappers) in a bowl. Stir thoroughly, mixing in one direction until the filling becomes well-combined and paste-like, about 10 minutes.
- Prepare a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and get a small bowl of room temperature water. Lastly, bring a small pot of water to a boil, so you can taste test a couple wontons.
- To assemble the wontons, take your square wonton wrapper, wet your finger, and dab one side of the square with water. Add 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the center, and gently fold the wrapper in half. Seal on all sides. Using your finger, brush another dab of water on one corner (of the filling side), and gently overlap the two corners of the rectangle by pressing them together. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Make one more wonton, boil, and taste test the two samples (we find that tasting two, and not just one, helps us get a better feel for the flavor and adjust seasoning more accurately). Make adjustments to taste before proceeding to make the whole batch.
- With the wontons made, assemble the soup. This recipe uses just 5 cups of chicken broth with the expectation that you’ll freeze half of the wontons for another day. 5 cups of broth is enough for 4 servings.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a soup pot. Sweat the onions until they’re translucent. Add the carrots and celery, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the broth, and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring a separate pot of water to a boil for your wontons. Boil them for 5-6 minutes (for fresh wontons) or 7-8 minutes (for frozen wontons). Divide into bowls and top with the hot soup.
Tips & Notes:
Makes about 4 dozen wontons.
Nutrition info is for 4 servings of wontons (about 6 wontons per serving) with soup/vegetables, assuming the remaining 2 dozen wontons are frozen for later.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 400kcal (20%) Carbohydrates: 44g (15%) Protein: 22g (44%) Fat: 16g (25%) Saturated Fat: 4g (20%) Cholesterol: 62mg (21%) Sodium: 915mg (38%) Potassium: 801mg (23%) Fiber: 4g (16%) Sugar: 4g (4%) Vitamin A: 8091IU (162%) Vitamin C: 12mg (15%) Calcium: 78mg (8%) Iron: 4mg (22%)
