Easy Won Ton Soup
Easy Won Ton Soup
When I was a kid going out for Chinese food with my family was always so special. The food wasn’t at all like the food we made at home. It always seemed so exotic to me. It was brought to the table in covered steel dishes on pedestals. You would take off the lids to see what treasure was in each one. Everything about it seemed magical to me. The first course would always be the Won Ton Soup. Brought in a big bowl, one of my parents would ladle some out to each of us. Such nice memories. I was defrosting my freezer recently and found some won ton wrappers. I decided to use some of them to make Won Ton Soup. I admit it will never be the same as the soup I ate in the Chinese restaurant years ago- but it will always make me think of those happy times with my family.
Easy Won Ton Soup
24 Won ton wrappers
1 c. cooked chicken
1/4 c. minced celery
1 t. soy sauce
1 t. sesame oil
4 c. chicken stock
4 c. fresh spinach
Combine chicken with the celery, soy sauce and sesame oil. Place 1 teaspoon of the chicken mixture in the center of a won ton wrapper. Moisten edges and fold in half to form a triangle. Press edges to seal. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Heat stock and add the wrappers and spinach and cook until heat through and spinach is cooked, about 5 minutes. Serves 2-3.
Raspberry Chocolate Wonton Bundles
Raspberry Chocolate Bundles
Still playing around with wontons and since I have some fresh raspberries I decided to use them together. I added chocolate, too. Once I filled all the bundles I baked them until golden brown, cooled them a little, and dusted with powdered sugar. These would be a cute dessert to make when fresh berries are available. I could see using blackberries or blueberries, too. They were quick to assemble, too.
Here is what I did.
I started by washing the raspberries and then putting them in a small bowl with some sugar. I rolled the raspberries around to coat them. I put a combination of chocolate chips- I had mini ones- and 3 raspberries in the center of each won ton wrapper. I’d say about a teaspoon of chips.
Place chocolate chips and 3 raspberries in the center of each wonton wrapper
I used water to moisten the edges of the wrapper and brought 2 points together to form and triangle. Then I brought the other 2 points up to create a cute little bundle. I pressed all the edges together to minimize leaks. I put the little bundles on a baking sheet- lined with a silicone baking mat and sprayed them with some non-stick spray. I could have brushed them with oil instead or even used nothing. I baked them in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. They were crispy and golden brown. They could have even cooked a minute or two longer. I placed them on a tray to cool and dusted them with powdered sugar. They came out quite nice.
I wasn’t sure how much moisture the raspberries would create when they got hot. I tried to leave them intact and not crush or bruise them as I placed them in the wrappers. The wrappers I used already had a cornstarch coating on them. I assumed the cornstarch would thicken any juices the raspberries made and that seemed to be the case. While some juices bubbled out of some of the wrappers it was no worse than berries bubbling out of a pie. The next day I tested a couple and they were still pretty crisp.
Bring points together to form a bundle
Place on parchment, silicone baking mat or lightly oil a cookie sheet.
Bake until golden brown
Allow to cool a little before dusting with powdered sugar
Ready to serve
Strawberry Won Tons
Strawberry Won Tons
Still playing around with these won ton wrappers. I wanted a dessert recipe and decided a spin on strawberry pie might be fun. I started with a pound of strawberries. I used about a cup of sliced berries to make the glaze. Just placed the berries in a small saucepan with about 1/2 cup of water and brought to a boil. Simmered for 10 minutes or so- until the berries lost color and the liquid turned a pretty red color. I strained out the liquid and discarded the berries. I put the berry liquid back on the stove, sweetened with sugar to taste- about 1/4 cup, maybe a bit more. I also made a slurry of water and tapioca starch to thicken it. I could have used corn starch but tapioca starch holds up better to reheating. I used about a tablespoon of tapioca starch and a couple of tablespoons of cold water and poured this into the simmering strawberry liquid until it got to the thickness I wanted. I removed the glaze from the stove and let it cool down. Once cooled I added about 2 cups of finely chopped strawberries. Now my filling was ready to go.
To make the little strawberry-wontons I just put a teaspoon of the filling in the middle of a wonton. I moistened the edges of the wrapper with water and folded it in half. I also folded some up like little eggs rolls. In small pan I heated the oil to 350 degrees. Less than half an inch of oil in the pan. Pan fried until crisp- about 30-60 seconds per side. Drained on paper towels and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Spoon filling on center of won ton wrapper
Pan fry until crisp
Cool a little then dust with powdered sugar
