The Soup That Tastes Like Comfort in a Bowl
There’s a reason wonton soup shows up on nearly every Chinese restaurant menu worth its salt. Each wonton is a small, slippery parcel — thin wheat wrapper giving way to a juicy pork-and-shrimp filling — bobbing in a broth so clear and gingery it practically glows. It’s light enough to start a meal and satisfying enough to be the whole dinner.
The good news: none of this is hard. The filling comes together in one bowl, the broth is mostly good chicken stock with ginger and scallion, and folding wontons is one of those kitchen skills that looks impressive but takes about five minutes to learn. Once you’ve folded your first dozen, your hands just know what to do.
This version pairs a classic pork-and-shrimp filling with a clean, aromatic broth and a handful of baby bok choy for color and crunch. Make a big batch of wontons, freeze half, and you’ll have the makings of this soup ready on any weeknight.
Ingredients
For the wontons (makes about 30):
- 8 oz ground pork (80/20 works best — the fat keeps the filling juicy)
- 4 oz raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped
- 2 scallions, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 30 square wonton wrappers (about 3 1/2 inches)
- Small bowl of water, for sealing
For the broth:
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 thin slices fresh ginger
- 2 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Kosher salt and ground white pepper, to taste
- 4 baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
To serve:
- Thinly sliced scallions
- Chili oil, soy sauce, and black vinegar at the table
How to Make Wonton Soup
- Mix the filling. Combine the ground pork, chopped shrimp, minced scallions, ginger, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Stir vigorously in one direction with chopsticks or a sturdy spoon for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture turns sticky and tacky. That tackiness is what holds the filling together — don’t skip the stirring.
- Fold the wontons. Set a wrapper on your palm like a diamond, one corner pointing toward you. Place about 1 teaspoon of filling in the center. Dip a finger in water and run it along the two top edges. Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner, pressing out any air as you seal the triangle. Dab water on the two bottom corners of the triangle, then bring them together and pinch to seal, forming the classic nurse’s-cap shape. Set finished wontons on a lightly floured tray and cover with a damp towel so they don’t dry out.
- Simmer the broth. While you fold, bring the chicken broth, ginger slices, scallion pieces, and Shaoxing wine to a gentle simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Let it bubble lazily for 10 minutes so the aromatics infuse. Fish out the ginger and scallion pieces, stir in the sesame oil, and season with salt and white pepper until it tastes bright and savory.
- Blanch the bok choy. Bring a separate large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the halved baby bok choy and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the leaves are vivid green and the stems are just tender. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside. (Cooking the greens separately keeps the broth crystal clear.)
- Cook the wontons. Bring the same pot of water back to a rolling boil. Add the wontons in two batches so they have room to swim — crowding makes them stick. Stir gently once so none cling to the bottom. They’re done about 3 to 4 minutes after they float to the surface; the wrappers turn translucent and slightly glossy. Lift them out with a slotted spoon.
- Assemble and serve. Divide the wontons among four warm bowls, tuck in the blanched bok choy, and ladle over the hot broth. Finish with sliced scallions and serve immediately, with chili oil, soy sauce, and black vinegar on the side for everyone to season their own bowl.
Tips for the Best Wonton Soup
Stir the filling until it’s tacky. This is the step that separates juicy, cohesive wontons from crumbly ones. Two to three minutes of vigorous one-direction stirring develops the proteins and binds everything. The mixture should cling to the spoon when you lift it.
Don’t overfill the wrappers. One teaspoon is plenty. Overstuffed wontons split in the boiling water, and nobody wants filling floating loose in the broth. Smaller wontons also cook through faster and more evenly.
Cook wontons in plain water, not the broth. Boiling the wontons directly in your serving broth clouds it with starch and loose bits of filling. A separate pot of water keeps the broth beautifully clear — the hallmark of a great wonton soup.
Seal out the air. Press the wrapper firmly around the filling before sealing the edges. Trapped air expands in boiling water and pops the wontons open. A tight seal means intact, plump wontons.
Taste the broth before serving. Broth is the soul of this soup. It should taste seasoned and gingery on its own — slightly bolder than you’d think, since the plain wontons and bok choy will mellow it in the bowl.
Variations Worth Trying
- All-pork wontons: Skip the shrimp and use 12 oz of ground pork. Add an extra teaspoon of soy sauce to keep the filling flavorful.
- Chicken wontons: Swap the pork for ground chicken thigh. The flavor is lighter; a pinch of sugar in the filling rounds it out.
- Vegetarian: Fill with finely chopped shiitake mushrooms, crumbled firm tofu, minced scallions, ginger, and soy sauce, and use vegetable broth. Press the tofu dry first so the filling isn’t watery.
- Noodle soup version: Add cooked thin wheat noodles or rice vermicelli to each bowl before the broth for a heartier meal — the classic Hong Kong wonton noodle soup treatment.
- Spicy broth: Stir a spoonful of chili oil directly into the broth, or finish each bowl with a drizzle. The heat pairs beautifully with the mild wontons.
What to Serve With It
Wonton soup makes a lovely light dinner on its own, but it also plays well as the opening course of a bigger spread. If you fold extra wontons, serve a few on the side with Ginger Scallion Sauce for dipping — the bright, punchy sauce is a natural partner for the mild pork-and-shrimp filling. Soup lovers who want a bolder, sour-spicy contrast should try Tom Yum Soup with Shrimp next; it scratches a completely different itch. And for a full soup-and-rice evening, a simple plate of steamed jasmine rice or garlicky greens rounds out the table.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Uncooked wontons freeze beautifully. Arrange them in a single layer on a parchment-lined tray, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. They keep for up to 3 months — cook straight from frozen, adding 1 to 2 extra minutes to the boiling time.
The broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated; the flavor actually deepens overnight. Cooked wontons are best eaten fresh — they go soft and bloated if they sit in broth too long, so only combine wontons and broth right before serving. Leftover filling keeps in the refrigerator for 1 day before folding.
Wonton Soup
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the filling: combine the ground pork, chopped shrimp, minced scallions, ginger, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Stir vigorously in one direction for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture turns sticky and tacky.
- Fold the wontons: place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each wrapper, moisten two edges with water, fold into a triangle pressing out air, then bring the two bottom corners together and pinch to seal. Cover finished wontons with a damp towel.
- Simmer the broth: bring the chicken broth, ginger slices, scallion pieces, and Shaoxing wine to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the aromatics, stir in the sesame oil, and season with salt and white pepper.
- Blanch the bok choy: boil the halved baby bok choy in salted water for 1 to 2 minutes until vivid green and just tender. Lift out with a slotted spoon.
- Cook the wontons: boil in batches in a separate pot of rolling water, stirring once so they don't stick. They're done 3 to 4 minutes after floating to the surface.
- Assemble and serve: divide wontons among warm bowls, add bok choy, ladle over hot broth, finish with sliced scallions, and serve with chili oil, soy sauce, and black vinegar on the side.
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