I'm so excited about this week's Sunday supper that I could bust. It's light, it's healthy, it's delicious. And if you follow this recipe, you'll learn how to make quick and easy dumplings/wontons from scratch. You can't beat that with a bat.
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So here's my new favorite dish. The stock takes about 1/2 an hour to make, but it's easy enough to do and has a lovely green garden taste. You can also substitute chicken or fish stock. But I recommend trying the vegetable stock if you have time. I also threw in a few green onions to give the stock a little bit of extra bite, which turned out very well.
The other great thing is that there is hardly any salt in this recipe. One teaspoon in the broth, and then you put a small container of soy sauce (you can use low sodium soy) on the table so everyone can add the flavor as you wish.
I'd love to know how it works out for you. And also, I'm curious. On Sundays, do you le a more traditional supper (roast chicken, smashed potatoes, the works) or do you like what Nigella Lawson likes to call "temple food" -- something light and healthy to get your week started on a more culinarily mindful note?
Asparagus Tips in Clear Broth With Crab Wontons
from Noodles: The New Way by Sri Owen
main ingredients:
16 to 20 wonton skins
1 egg white, lightly beaten, to seal the wontons
thinly sliced scallions and red chili to garnish
light soy sauce, to serve
for the broth:
1 pound asparagus
2 whole tomatoes
2 celery stalks, each cut into 4 pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper
for the filling:
4 ounces boneless pork meat with a little fat
8 to 12 ounces white crabmeat
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped scallions
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery leaf
1 egg
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1) To make the broth, trim the asparagus tips off about 2 and 1/2 inches from the top, set aside. Put the rest of the stalks, the tomatoes and celery into a pan with 1 and 1/2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes then break up the tomatoes and continue to simmer for 5 minutes longer. Strain this stock into another pan.
2) Meanwhile, make the filling: chop the pork meat and fat with a cleaver until fine. In a bowl, mix the pork and fat with the rest of the filling ingredients, except the egg and soy sauce. Knead the mixture for a few minutes, then add the egg, the salt and pepper, and soy sauce to taste and mix in thoroughly.
3) Divide the filling into as many portions as you have wonton skins. Put one portion in the center of a wonton (about 1/2 a teaspoon), the wonton skins fill faster than you think. Brush the top edges of the wonton with the egg white, then fold the skin to make a triangle, pressing the edges gently to seal it. Fill the other skins in the same way. (This is not the traditional way to fold wontons, but it's the easiest and the quickest.)
The recipes calls for 20 filled wontons. I found that when I made it, it yielded about 10 extra, which I saved to use the next day as an appetizer, served warm with a soy dipping sauce.
4) Heat 5 cups of water in a saucepan and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a roiling boil and drop in 8 to 10 filled wontons. Boil for 4 to 5 minutes, then transfer with a draining spoon to a strainer to drain. Cook the remaining wontons the same way.
5) Just before serving, bring the broth to a boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the asparagus tips and simmer for four to five minutes until they are just tender.
6) Meanwhile, divide the wontons among four soup bowls and garnish them with scallions and chili sauces. Pour the broth into the bowls and equally divide the asparagus tips among between them. Serve piping hot. Instead of salt and pepper, let people help themselves to light soy sauce from a small pitcher or pourer.
