Vegetarian Wonton Soup

In my family, my Mom and my Grandma both refrain from eating meat twice a month, on the 1st and the 15th of each month on the lunar calendar. And since they were the ones cooking, the rest of us pretty much growing up with meatless food on average twice a month too! But we never complain since they are both wizards in the kitchen. Case in point, this lovely vegetarian wonton soup. They are so good we sometimes forget there’s no meat in these.

What do you need to make homemade vegetarian wonton soup?

There are basically two parts, the wontons, and the soup.

The soup itself is very very basic, it’s pretty much a lightly seasoned vegetable stock, and all you need are these:

• vegetable stock, or water in a pinch
• ginger
• mushroom granules or salt, though definitely try using mushroom granules if you are using water instead of vegetable stock for the soup
• scallions
• cilantro
• deep-fried shallot, most people stop at scallions and cilantro, but once you add deep-fried shallot to your wonton soup, you will never want it any other way

For the wontons, you will need:

• wonton wrappers. Wonton wrappers have eggs in them and have a square shape. These are okay if you are not opposed to eating eggs as a vegetarian. If you must use egg-free wrappers, then I suggest using dumpling wrappers instead. Dumpling wrappers are usually round and have white color since they don’t have eggs. Dumpling wrappers are also known as gyoza wrappers.
• firm or extra-firm tofu
• shiitake mushrooms. Best if you start from dried shiitake mushrooms, and rehydrate overnight in cold water. I usually strain the soaking water to remove dirt and use it as part of the vegetable stock.
• wood ear mushrooms. These are usually sold dried and will also need to be rehydrated in cold water overnight. If you can’t find these, simply double the amount of shiitake used in the recipe.
• carrot, grated
• scallions, thinly sliced
• soy sauce
• mushroom sauce. This is basically a vegan/vegetarian version of mushroom sauce.
• sesame oil
• mushroom granules or salt
• ground white pepper

How to wrap wontons

Let’s start with preparing the wonton filling:

1. Drain tofu. Wrap tofu with paper towels and sandwich tofu block between two plates. Place a heavy object (e.g. cast-iron skillet) on top of the plate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours to drain as much water as possible from the tofu.
2. Mix and season wonton filling. In a mixing bowl, crumbled drained tofu with your fingers, then add finely chopped shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped wood ear mushrooms, grated carrot, and thinly sliced scallions. Season wtih soy sauce, mushroom sauce, sesame oil, mushroom granules (or salt), and ground white pepper. Mix well, and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Once the filling is ready, we can begin wrapping them in wonton wrappers:

1. Place a teaspoon of wonton filling at the center of the wrapper.
2. Moisten the edges with water using your finger, then fold in half to form a rectangular shape. Press the edges lightly to seal.
3. Fold the sides so the edges overlap. Wet the two closest edges where they meet and pinch to seal.

I hope I’m doing a great job describing how to wrap wontons. Otherwise, please follow the photo for the step-by-step guide to wrapping wonton. I think the visual guide is more helpful. :)

Just to give you a rough idea on the time you may need. I am in no way an expert with wrapping wontons, and my average wrapping time is about one wonton per minute. Since the filling is enough to fill 100-120 wontons, it took me close to two hours just to wrap the whole lot.

If you have friends or family members to help, definitely get their help, especially if you will be feeding them delicious wonton soup later. :D

How to store wrapped wonton?

For me, wontons are not really that great when they are reheated, so I usually cook enough amount of wontons to be eaten in one seating. And any extra wontons are best to be stored until needed. And here is how I usually store my wrapped wontons:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Arrange wrapped wontons on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet in one layer, no touching between wontons.
3. Place in the freezer until partially frozen, then transfer to a ziplock bag.
4. The frozen wontons should not be sticking to one another. And when you want to use them, simply remove as many as needed from the ziplock bag, and cook without thawing.

How to cook and serve wonton soup?

The soup is the simplest thing once you are done with wrapping your wontons.

1. Boil together vegetable stock and grated ginger. Add mushroom granules (or salt) to suit your taste.
2. Add wontons to the soup, and cook until wonton floats, indicating that they are fully cooked.
3. Turn off the heat, add chopped scallions, chopped cilantro, and deep-fried shallot. Stir to mix, and serve immediately.