By: Molly Moss
Dairy Free or Dairy Free Adjustable, Gluten Free or GF Adjustable, Mains, Soups & Stews, Veggie Heavy, , ,

Lazy Wonton Soup with Spring Veg

To clarify, this is not wonton soup. Sometimes you want the flavors of wonton soup, without the fuss of shaping wontons, and that’s where this bad boy comes in. Porky meatballs (aka wonton filling), simmered in delicious broth, and finished with lots of green veg (because..vitamins). Go on, flourish, and be lazy when you need to. 

Tips:

  • Any brothy soup is only as good as the quality of the stock. Don’t opt for the boxed stuff. If you absolutely can’t make your own, try better than bouillon soup bases. 
  • Add some chinese egg noodles if you want more of the traditional wonton flavor (or carbs… cause that’s always a legitimate reason). 
  • This recipe, in general, is very flexible. Use whatever veg you want or have on hand. We’re already being very unauthentic here, so do what you want!

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the soup:

  • 10 cups chicken stock (homemade highly preferred, or high quality store bought)
  • 2 inches ginger peeled and cut into 3 slices
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • ½ tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups snap peas
  • 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
  • 3 cups spinach 
  • Chili flakes or paste, optional

For the wonton meatballs: 

  • 1 lb ground pork
  • ½ cup thinly sliced scallions
  • 2 tbsp finely minced ginger
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • ¾ – 1 tbsp diamond crystal salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • ½ tbsp shaoxing wine, if you can find it. 
Instructions
  1. In a large pot, add the chicken broth and sliced ginger and heat until simmering. Simmer together while you prep the other ingredients. 
  2. Mix all of the ingredients for the meatballs together. To taste for seasoning, boil off one small meatball. Adjust seasoning as needed. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes (the mixture will be quite wet).
  3. After the 15 minute mark, add the soy sauce and sesame oil to the broth. Taste and adjust seasoning (if using unsalted broth, you will need to add quite a bit of salt here). 
  4. Add the carrots to the broth. Return to a simmer. 
  5. Use your hands to form rough balls with the meatball mixture. Drop each ball into the simmering broth. It’s OK if this is a bit messy, the balls don’t need to be perfect. I didn’t shape the balls in advance, I simply shaped and dropped each ball one at a time. 
  6. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. 
  7. Add the scallions, snap peas, and chili flakes and remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. 
  8. Add a bit of spinach to the bottom of each bowl and pour the both over. If you are not serving the entire soup at this time, don’t add the spinach until reheating. 
  9. Enjoy!