Feeling Wonton?
It's been raining for over three days in Tokyo, and the trusty Japanese Meteorological Agency
says we'll have another three days of early spring rain. Good: Rain
makes doing the laundry impossible. Bad: The prospect of dressing in
layers of waterproof clothing and sloshing on bike or foot to the train
station for a day of city life, too.much.hassle. But,
dragging husband on a run of the food markets and shops in the name of
an evening of cooking and some chess on the side--not so bad. And there
was wine.
While I was browning beef and chopping onions (thinking
ahead to dreary Sunday) for a slow-cooker beef stew, I set the husband
to making Wonton Soup. Wontons are something we've had on many, many occasions, and the fillings come in infinite variety. I thought that keeping it simple&classic, would be a good way to keep husband from grumbling so the ingredients were:
200 grams of minced pork, an egg, 1 package of large-sized wrappers, two sticks of celery with leaves, two knobs of ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and vinegar.
Pretty
basic. The beauty of this dish is that there is no need to make a stock
for the soup. The water you cook the wontons in becomes your soup and
the celery stalks and a few of the leaves, the aromatic herb and
vegetable. Celery leaves don't get enough credit. They add such zing!
and are lovely with ginger and sesame oil.
Start by peeling the ginger (if you can be bothered) and set to grating it finely into your meat mixture.
I highly recommend the Microplane Zester--it changed my life.
Next,
add your single lonely egg, three pinches of salt, a tablespoon of
sesame oil and the finely chopped celery leaves. A note on seasoning:
it is best to put a little more than a little less, in this case.
Seasoning is quite subjective, so there isn't a wrong or right way to
go about this. BUT, whenever possible, taste your food in its many stages of creation, and don't be a slave to a recipe. Recipes are guidelines ;-)
Now get your hands dirty and really mix and blend your filling. Husband, so kindly, demonstrates.
And
now we get to the quasi-challenging part of making wontons--filling up
all those wrappers. Start by clearing yourself a space on the table and
giving yourself a place to sit; you're going to be here for a while. A
bowl of water (to seal the wrappers) and a couple of tiny spoons are
your culinary weapons. Things to keep in mind when filling your little
bundles: seal tightly and remove the air bubbles, and if in doubt, use
less filling to stuff your wontons.
Dip your finger into your water bowl and paint two edges of your
wonton. Fold your square wrapper into a triangle, making sure that no
air is trapped between the skin.
Now, with your finger 'water brush', dab the water on both ends of the triangle, and fold into the center. Be firm, but gentle with your squeezing.
Some
wontons will 'be of another character'. That's okay. The difference
makes them gorgeous and playful and definitely not what you could buy
at the grocery. Who wants uniform, soulless food? Give me many hands
and irregularity. That 'special' ingredient.
And
now it is time for the boiling. Bring a pot of water to boil and when
you have a rumbling boil, plop your little parcels into your pot. When
all your wontons are in the pot, let the water come up to a vigorous
boil again and then turn to medium-high. Skins are delicate and too hot
of a bath can tear them. Boil for about 10 minutes.
While
your wonton little darlings are cooking prepare your soup bowls. Thinly
slice your celery stalks, divide and place in your bowls. To that add a
couple of tablespoons of soy sauce and vinegar, a tablespoon of sesame
oil and bit of salt. The hot broth will blanche your celery, leaving it
crisp and fragrant--not mushy.
Ladle
your wontons into your bowl, pour on the hot broth (just to cover) and
give a little stir and taste (adjusting seasoning).
Voila! A soup for Wonton souls--so simple that my husband can even make this....
