Thursday, August 17, 2017

Wonton soup!

   "Wontons, authentic Chinese wontons, if made correctly, have thin flour wrappers with stuffing inside, similar to dumplings but the wrappers are in a square shape, not round, and thinner than dumpling wrappers. They are usually boiled, and then served with clear broth or sauce.
So, wontons are not like macaronis.
Wontons are well stuffed. The stuffing is usually a mix of minced meat (pork or beef the most common, but other meat might also be used, even shrimps) and chopped vegetables like pak choi / Chinese cabbage, celery, mushrooms, shephed’s purse, leek, etc. It is not a “tiny bit” of meat. It is mixed so because we like it like way. The stuffing is enough to satisfy your bite and your taste. And the mix of meat and vegetables brings a great texture that is more sophisticated than pure meat.
See the pictures below. Does it look like a tiny bit to you?
There are another type of wontons in Guangdong (Canton) and Fujian (Fukian) that have only meat stuffing. And along the Yangtze River there is a variation of wonton called 小馄饨, literally “little wontons”, also made of meat only. They are usually smaller than the ones with mixed stuffing, but still, not a tiny bit! They are smaller because they are meant for breakfast, or a snack for occasions like the western high tea hour. You don’t count on them to fill up your stomach. It is about the taste. They are SUPPOSED to be delicate, not a chunk of steak.
Cantonese (so you might have this in Hong Kong too) also like to have several wontons with soup noodles, sided with slightly boiled pak choi and seaweed slices. Wontons with peeled shrimp and minced meat in the stuffing are unique of Cantonese cuisine.

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