Homemade wonton soup! These wontons are filled with a juicy pork and prawn / shrimp filling and will knock your socks off. With step by step photos and a recipe video, you’re going to be a Wonton Wrapping Master in no time! Added bonus: Best standby freezer meal ever and super healthy (350 calories for a bowl!)
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Wonton soup
If you’ve ever had store bought frozen wontons or wontons from a good value Chinese place that probably uses frozen wontons, you will be amazed how different homemade ones are. The main difference is the texture of the filling – because homemade wontons are made with just pure fresh ingredients, NO mysterious fillers!
I think wontons are one of those things that many people don’t think to make, assuming they are really tedious and take ages. But they don’t!! The wonton filling takes minutes to make (literally – 5 minutes) and wrapping the wontons is quite fast if you use my method!
About this Wonton recipe
I used to use my mother’s Wonton recipe, because it’s the one I have used all my cooking life. Then a few years ago, I came across this Wonton Soup recipe by my friend Maggie from Omnivore’s Cookbook, a wonderful authentic Chinese food blog.
I’ve learnt so much about authentic Chinese cooking from Maggie who was born and raised in China and only recently moved to the States. She takes such great care with her recipes, if you love Chinese food, I think you’ll be as delighted to discover her blog as I was. 🙂
So I think my mother was a bit disgruntled when I told her I was using Maggie’s Wonton filling for this post because it’s better than hers. I sent her away with samples, and she agreed that Maggie’s Wontons are fantastic, but didn’t admit it was better.
It IS better. Sorry mum! Maggie’s has better seasoning! 😉
Wonton filling
There are many types of wonton fillings, but I’d say that pork and shrimp/prawns are the most common. Then there are all sorts of additions, including mushrooms, water chestnuts, chopped up Asian greens and even carrots.
With all the possible variations out there, and not knowing which recipes are actually “real”, you can be confident that this is authentic because I have used Maggie’s recipe exactly as it is written.
Wrapping Wontons
This is where Maggie and I differ. If you click over to Maggie’s recipe, you will see that she uses trapezium shaped wontons wrappers (I had to Google that!!!). I use plain square ones because they are readily available here in Australia, even in supermarkets (Woolies, Coles). Once cooked, they look pretty similar.
So here is how I wrap wontons. This is a fast way of wrapping wontons because you can lay out 10, even 20, and do them all in one go, rather than doing them one by one, because they are wrapped on the work surface rather than in your hand.
My Way of Wrapping Wontons
The above is the way I usually fold wontons because I like the way the “tails” flap around like noodles once cooked. Yes, I’m a 7 year old at heart.
But to me, the flappy wonton skins are part of the Wonton Soup experience. 😂
The better way for freezing (more compact)
However, when I know I’m going to be freezing all or most of them, I wrap them in a more compact way so they fit better inside containers. This is the way the frozen wontons in Asian grocery stores are wrapped.
The photo on the bottom right is a container of frozen wontons I bought to show you how they are sold. Also so I could make some and smugly say how much better homemade is!
Asian Grocery Store Way
Both wonton wrapping methods are just as easy, and you can do them in batches rather than holding them one by one. But you can see how much more compact the Asian Grocery Store Way is compared to My Way in the photo below. The Wontons at the top are the compact Asian Grocery Way, the ones on the bottom are My Way with more flap page once cooked.
This is what mine looks like once cooked. See all that wonton wrapper flappage? YUM.
Don’t get too hung up about how neat your wontons are. Once cooked, they mostly lose their shape, so just make sure that your filling is well sealed inside. And even if the filling falls out, you still get the same flavour, so don’t fret!!!
Tip: As tempting as it is, do not bunch them up like a money bag otherwise you end up with a thick wad of wonton wrapper that won’t cook through.
Broth for Wonton Soup
Wontons are served in a clear Chinese chicken broth. Sometimes with just wontons, sometimes with wontons and noodles, called “Combination Long and Short Soup” on Chinese restaurant menus. “Short” refers to the wontons and “Long” refers to the long noodles!
If I am at an Asian store, I usually pick up Chinese chicken broth which is more yellow but just as tasty as Western chicken broth that is available at supermarkets. However, I usually make this with ordinary Chicken broth using the same soup broth recipe as my Chinese Noodle Soup.
So….what do you think??? Have I convinced you to give homemade Wonton Soup a go? I promise it is WORTH IT! They taste absolutely incredible. You will be amazed!
– Nagi x
PS Homemade wontons are so fantastic for standby meals to keep in your freezer because you can throw in whatever veggies you have and voila! You have a complete HEALTHY meal!
More great dumplings of the world
Potstickers (Chinese pan fried dumplings)
Gyoza (Japanese dumplings)
Shumai (Japanese steamed dumplings on my mother’s site, RecipeTin Japan!)
Browse the Yum Cha recipe collection
Watch How To Make It
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Wonton Soup
Ingredients
- 50 – 60 wonton wrappers (Note 1)
Wonton Filling
- 200 g / 7 oz lean pork mince (ground pork)
- 200 g / 7 oz peeled prawns / shrimp , roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger , finely grated (1.5″ / 3cm piece)
- 2 shallots / green onions , finely chopped (5 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sesame oil, toasted (Note 4)
Broth (for 2 servings)
- 3 cups / 750 ml chicken broth (Note 5)
- 2 garlic cloves , smashed (6)
- ⅓” / 1 cm piece of ginger , sliced (optional, but highly recommended)
- 1½ tbsp light soy sauce (Note 2)
- 2 tsp sugar (any)
- 1½ tbsp chinese cooking wine (Note 3)
- ¼ – ½ tsp sesame oil
To Serve
- Shallots / scallions , finely chopped
- Bok choy , quartered, or Chinese broccoli cut into 10cm /4″ lengths (optional)
- 40 – 50 g / 1.5 – 1.75 oz dried egg noodles per person , (optional) (8)
Instructions
Wontons:
- Place Filling ingredients in a bowl. Use a potato masher to mash until fairly smooth – about 20 mashes. Don’t turn the prawn into a complete paste, small chunks are good.
Wrapping (See photos and video):
- Use My Way (better Wonton Soup experience!) or the Asian Grocery Store Way (easier to pack for freezing).
- Lay Wontons on work surface. Use 2 teaspoons to put the Filling on the wontons. Work in batches of 5 if starting out, up to 15 or 20 if confident. Brush 2 edges with water. Fold to seal, pressing out air. Brush water on one corner and bring corners together, pressing to seal.
- Place wrapped wontons into a container with a lid as you work (so they don’t dry out).
Cooking/Freezing:
- To cook: bring a large pot of water to boil. Place wontons in water and cook for 4 minutes or until they float. Remove with slotted spoon straight into serving bowls. Ladle over broth.
- To freeze: Freeze uncooked in airtight containers. Cook from frozen for 6 to 8 minutes. IMPORTANT: Do not freeze if you made this with defrosted frozen prawns. (Note 11)
Broth:
- Place Broth ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Add white ends of scallions/shallots if leftover from Wonton filling.
- Place lid on, bring to simmer then reduce to medium high and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Pick garlic and ginger out before using.
- If using vegetables, blanch in the soup broth and place in serving bowl.
Assemble Soup:
- Prepare noodles according to packet directions (if using noodles). Place in serving bowl with cooked wontons and blanched vegetables.
- Ladle over soup. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This wonton recipe was originally published in September 2016. Updated for housekeeping matters in 2018 – no change to recipe!
Life Of Dozer
Little impromptu home video I put together of Dozer with the gang at the beach!
We are having an asian night with friends and I have been asked to make a soup. Thinking of attempting this, but how do you suggest I make this ahead ? If I am understanding correctly – you blanch bok choy and then pour broth over that and the cooked wontons. Can I cut up the bok choy and boil in the soup with the wontons and bring the soup that way or how do you suggest? All new to me.
Thanks for all of your great recipes.
I would make the wontons ahead Julie and freeze them. Prep your bok choy and the other ingredients. Then at the venue, cook the rest of the recipe as written. If you want an Asian soup you can prepare ahead of time and just heat and serve, I would try my hot and sour one instead – it keeps up to 5 days in the fridge! https://www.recipetineats.com/hot-and-sour-soup/ N x
Thanks – my daughter and I had fun making the wontons last night. Your picture instructions and videos made it so easy! Looking forward to trying the soup!
Hi can u pls tell me if I have a wonton soup base (pandaroo) do I still add soy sauce ,garlic ,ginger??? Or just the base an wontons? I’m not sure 😕 pls help 😁
Hi I made the filling, I bought wonton wrappers, and I cannot get them to stick together no matter what? Lots of room to fold them. Could my wrappers too old or something, it said they expired in two weeks
Did you wet the edges of the wrapper before you folded them together?
I sure did!
An update, I bought some more wonton wrappers and tried again. Worked perfectly, awesome filling. Last wontons were close to expiry date, so I do wonder if maybe they were just too old and wouldn’t work.
This recipe was awesome, the only thing I changed was an extra cup of stock to extend the liquid. But very tasty and simple
Just going to mention, shallots and scallions are 2 very different types of onions .
Yes in the US, ingredients have “special” names, whereas the rest of the world hove “normal” names.
Love wonton soup so decided to make it at home. Chose your recipe and it was delicious. Better than the local Chinese joint. Added some bbq pork and Napa cabbage. Love your site
The wontons came out amazing like restaurant quality. I will make them again. But the broth was so bland. Any recommendations on how I can fix the broth. I used the low sodium organic chicken broth from Trader Joe’s.
I love how thorough this post is. Not just for the broth but the wontons themselves. Good Wonton soup starts with excellent broth and excellent wontons!!
This is an awesome recipe. I have it on regular rotation. It is requested by my husband and adult daughters. I try to always have some wontons in the freezer. Thank Navi for another great recipe!
Can I make these wontons with just vegetables and if so, which vegetables would you suggest? Thanks!
When I was making the won ton filling I knew this would be delicious! I could tell by the smell this was bang on. The broth was to die for. I used egg roll wrappers as I didn’t have won ton wrappers and the store didn’t either; so, giant won ton. LOL but it was sooo good I wish I had made more than the 2 servings.
Just checking in to say that I’ve made this recipe 10+ times over the years and it is absolutely one of my favorite things to make! I live in a small town with no options for decent wonton soup within an hour. Thank you so much for sharing it!
Not sure if Nagi or if anyone else can help answer this question. I’ve looked up and down this entire website/article, and for the life of me, I cannot find out how many pounds/lbs of pork and shrimp do we need to make this recipe? I saw she put 200g/7oz prawn for the Wonton filling, because that is only a out half a pound, I’m gonna assume that is how much we put inside each Wonton wrappers. But I’m not sure what is the overall total amount to use for the 50-60 wrappers? I calculated the 7oz per wrapper into 50-60 wraps, and I got a total of about 22lbs each pork and shrimp. Now that doesn’t make sense or does it? Sorry I’m really new to cooking, please if anyone can help answer this question.
Hi Diana – 200 grams/7 oz EACH of prawns and pork (totalling 400 grams or 14 oz/just under a pound) is the total amount you need for 50-60 wontons. Each wonton dumpling only has about a teaspoon of filling. Just buy exactly the amounts listed on the ingredients list at the bottom of the post and follow the instructions and you will be fine! N x
This is on the menu tonight. Our muskovy ducks multiply like crazy every spring summer so we eat a lot of duck in the fall winter. I always make separate meals with the breasts and legs. I use the necks backs and feet to make stock. A few days ago we had your pho, but I subbed a thinly sliced duck breast for the beef and duck stock . Today I’m making this using duck stock and duck mince for the wonton. I am way too far from town so I had to make my wonton dough and use a pasta roller. I know this is going to be delicious
Wow Tara – in awe of anyone who makes their own won ton wrappers!! N x
Can you leave out the prawn/shrimp meat and just use same quantity of pork in place of please?
Hi Lyn…yes you could! N x
Awesome thank you. It’s off to my local Asian supermarket I go now to find the broth. ❤
Hi there just seeing if u know , I’ve got a wonton noodle soup base from Asian store would u no if I still add soy sauce, garlic, ginger to it? Just not sure lol
Awesome thank you. It’s off to my local Asian supermarket I go now to find the chicken broth ❤
Hi can u pls tell me if I a wonton soup base (PANDAROO)Do I need to still put soy sauce, garlic, ginger in it ??? Pls help thank u x
My 11 year old daughter just loves wonton soup always wanting me to buy it from our local shop, so I decided to try an make it. I have now made this a few times using different recipes and just have not had the tick of approval from her until I came across your recipe. OMG can I just say this was so good and tasty, I can’t believe I even made something so good, my daughter absolutely loved it and so did I so easy to make thank you Nagi for sharing.
Excellent! So happy you liked it! N x
So good!! Can’t believe it was this easy all along, definitely thought this was something I had to order to get my fix 😅 thanks Nagi 😁
There is a place that serves amazing wonton noodle soup near my best friend’s house. Unfortunately, my best friend lives over two hour’s drive from me! So I gave this a shot tonight, and it was almost as good. – and the almost came mostly from the fact I had to make it myself! Thank you so much, Nagi, for satisfying my wonton craving and saving my life! 😀
Hi! I made a different wonton soup recipe the other day and while the wontons were tasty, the broth was dark and too heavy. Yours looks just right can’t wait to try. My question is about serving size. I need to serve 6. Can you please let me know how many wontons and how much broth to make. Thanks!!
Do you use raw pork in the wonton filling, or should it be fried first?
It needs to be raw, otherwise it will overcook and turn rubbery when you cook them. N x
If I make this recipe with cooked prawns will it still work?
No sorry Dana, they need to be raw or they will go rubbery. N x
I was a bit sceptical about how complex this might be, but it was SO easy, fun to make and really tasty. Great mix of ingredients makes the broth very rich. Thanks
Thank you!!! One of my favorite soups. So simple and full of flavor. Feel kind of bad for my local Chinese restaurant, I nailed it on the first try!!! Oh la la.