Chili peanut wontons in lemon coriander soup

Living in Singapore has made me appreciate noodles, dumplings, wontons and the variety of desserts made with rice flour more than ever. Walking down the aisles of hawker centers in the morning hours is something I absolutely look forward to. The sight of hot steaming buns, wontons and dumplings in large bamboo steamers in Dim Sum shops, meticulous wrapping of these little parcels in small kitchens, customers walking away with a generous bowl of noodles in a soup or wontons in a clear broth is something that gets my senses excited every single time. This recipe is thus inspired by the technique of laying firm yet soft wontons in a bowl that are submerged with an aromatic broth that I have observed during my trips to hawker centers.

I read somewhere that eating a wonton is like swallowing a cloud and the description fits perfectly. Biting into silky soft wontons filled with a textural bite from chili and peanut in a broth full of aromatics is just that. And if you have enjoyed my Nepalese vegetable momos, you will surely love this one too. Similar concept but the cooking style varies.

The lemon coriander soup is made up of loads of aromatics but don’t let the list demotivate you. It all goes in a processor/chopper and then onto the pan to simmer and infuse its flavours in the water. Essentially what the ingredients make up is a bouillon cube; your own customized stock cube instead of buying ready store-bought stock cubes from the market. Simply make a big batch of the finely chopped vegetables/aromatics and freeze it in cubes. The wonderful thing about making your own bouillon cube is that you could customize it to your liking – if you like the flavour of ginger, increase its quantity or you cannot find a certain ingredient, skip and use something else. No matter which way you go, it adopts beautifully in a soup like my thukpa or even a risotto. Though do note that using starchy ingredient like a potato can make the soup more cloudy than clear and using ingredient like purple cabbage though would taste great, its vibrant colour can seep in the soup.

For the wontons, I have used ready, store bought wontons wrappers that either come in a round or a square shape pack. They are slippery thin but sturdy enough to hold the stuffing. Few things to note while working with wrappers though:

1. It makes it easier to fold the wontons if you keep the wrapper pack in the fridge until you are ready to stuff.
2. If you intend to make a big batch and freeze, wrap each wonton and lay on a tray with a greaseproof paper. Put the tray filled with wontons in the freezer until frozen. Remove the frozen wontons and pack them in a container or a freezer safe bag. When ready to eat, remove from the freezer and use as needed.
3. There are tons of ways a wonton can be folded. You could fold in any which way you like; end result is bound to be delicious.
4. When ready to cook, place the wontons in batches in rolling boiling water in a wide pan. Stir it once so that they don’t stick. Leave it without stirring anymore as too much handling can break the delicate skin. Once cooked, they will float to the top. Continue to cook for additional 2 minutes and remove with a wire mesh strainer.

I hope you will like this recipe as its components can be made well in advance and its freezer friendly too. If you liked this recipe, do have a look at these recipes too.

1.  Nepalese Vegetable Momos 
2. Vegetarian thukpa – Noodles in a spicy broth
3. Healthiest white soup