Fresh shrimp wontons with thin, silky wrappers and a smooth, delicate filling. Includes homemade crispy scallion oil, hand-ground pork from carefully selected cuts, and a light pork rib broth.
Shallotsfor making crispy scallion oil~3-4 tbspest.
Oilcan substitute with lard, for frying scallion oil~1½ cupsest.
Pork shank musclelean cut with fine texture and minimal fat~450 gest.
Pork belly or pork shoulderpaired with lean meat, ratio about 1:9~50 gest.
Fresh shrimpcan substitute with cooked shrimp, one per wonton~8-10est.
Five-spice powderessential, can be homemade or purchased from Chinese herbal shops~¼ tspest.
Minced garlic
optional
~2 tbspest.
Oyster sauce~2 tbspest.
Soy sauce~3 tbspest.
Scallionchopped, or substitute with Chinese chives at 1:1 ratio~2 stalksest.
Crispy scallion oilapproximately 15g, from the homemade portion2 tbsp
Scallion oil (from heating the crispy scallion oil)heated to 140°C then poured over scallions~3-4 tbspest.
Waterfor binding filling, amount to taste~3-4 tbspest.
Wonton wrappercan be store-bought or homemade~30-40est.
Pork ribfor broth, can substitute with pork bone~800 gest.
Onionfor broth2
Ginger slicefor broth~4-5 slicesest.
Garliccrushed, for broth~4-5 clovesest.
White peppercorna pinch, for broth~1 tspest.
Saltfor seasoning broth1 tsp
Sugarfor seasoning broth1 tsp
White pepper powdera pinch, added to bowl~½ tspest.
Celeryoptional, can substitute with dried shrimp, seaweed, or Chinese chives~1 cupest.
Vegetablesfor blanching and serving in soup~1 cupest.
Steps
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1
Make crispy scallion oil: Put sliced shallots in a pot with oil and heat slowly over medium heat. Once evenly heated, switch to medium-low heat and continue frying.
2
Once half the shallots turn golden, turn off heat and let residual heat cook them through. When all are golden, drain the oil, place on paper towel to absorb excess oil and cool.
3
Prepare pork: Use pork shank muscle (mostly lean), paired with a small amount of fatty pork at a 1:9 ratio. Remove any sinew; you can freeze the meat first then cut into small chunks to break up sinew.
4
Place meat chunks on a cutting board and press with the knife back to grind manually. Repeat multiple times for better texture control. Can finish with a food processor for stickiness, but hand-chopping produces the best result.
5
Chop the meat with a knife in all directions, repeating 3-5 times until the surface shows fine fibers and becomes sticky.
6
Season the meat filling: Add five-spice powder, minced garlic (optional), oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Stir in one direction with clean hands or gloved hands to evenly distribute flavors.
7
Add chopped scallion (or Chinese chives) at a 1:1 ratio. Then add crispy scallion oil (about 15g or 2 tbsp).
8
Reheat the scallion oil from the crispy portion to 140°C, then pour it hot directly over the scallions to release their aroma. Stir quickly to fully combine with the meat.
9
Add water: Add small amounts at a time, letting the meat gradually absorb. Stop when the filling looks moist but not wet. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour before wrapping to enhance flavor and prevent excess liquid.
10
Wrap wontons: Take a wrapper, lightly wet the center, place filling in the middle, and wet the edges. Fold diagonally, press edges to seal, then bring the two bottom corners together and pinch tightly with thumb.
11
For shrimp lovers, place one shrimp on top of the filling. If wontons are not cooked the same day, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze longer. Keep crispy scallion oil refrigerated or it will soften.
12
Prepare the broth: Blanch pork ribs, rinse, and place in cold water to cook. Add white peppercorns, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp sugar. Add onion, ginger slices, and crushed garlic. Once broth comes to a boil, cover and simmer on low heat for 40 minutes.
13
Cook noodles: Bring a separate pot of water to boil. Add a splash of cold water to make noodles springier, then add wontons and cook for about 3 minutes.
14
Prepare the bowl: Add white pepper powder, salt, crispy scallion oil, and celery (or dried shrimp, seaweed, or Chinese chives) to the bowl. Optionally strain the broth through a sieve. Pour hot broth into the bowl to release aromas.
15
Place cooked noodles in the bowl, arrange wontons and blanched vegetables on top. Top up with broth and garnish with crispy scallion oil.
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