Wonton Soup

Thinking back on some of the best soups that I have ever had, I was taken back to my family's vacation this past summer to Montreal, Quebec. While there, we had dinner at an adorable little Chinese restaurant. Tucked away in the heart of the city I ordered one of the best Wonton Soups that I've ever had. The broth was full of flavor and the wontons were tender and perfect! 

Trying to replicate this wonton soup, I searched the web and some of my favorite blogs for an authentic wonton soup. I stumbled upon Joy Zhang's blog joylicious. Joy was born in Shanghai, China and raised in Houston, Texas. Her beautiful blog showcases her Mother's Wonton Soup recipe. This recipe is as authentic as they come. It is so full of flavor and steaming the wontons gives them the perfect texture without overcooking them.  

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. raw shrimp, shelled and divined

1 lb. ground pork

1 package wonton wrappers

1 egg white

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 teaspoon fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sugar

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10 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

1 teaspoon salt

green onions and cilantro for garnish  

Remove wonton wrappers from their package and wrap in a moist towel and set aside. This will help to ensure that the wrappers do not dry out. Wash the shrimp and then dry with a paper towel. Coarsely chop the shrimp. In a medium sized bowl, mix together shrimp, ground pork, egg white, corn starch, sesame oil, salt, rice wine, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, and sugar. 

Place 1 teaspoon of the pork and shrimp mixture in the middle of the wonton wrapper. Any more than 1 teaspoon will make it difficult to fold the wonton. Dip your finger in water and trace the border of the wrapper. This water will act as a glue when you fold it to hold the wrapper together. Fold the wrapper in half and press down the edges. Fold the wonton in half again. Pinch the middle of the wonton and bring the end pieces of the wrapper together. 

Place the wontons in a bamboo steamer on top of lettuce or cabbage leaves. The lettuce or cabbage prevents the wontons from sticking to the bamboo. You can also use parchment paper. Make sure you leave enough room around the edge of the bamboo steamer so that the steam will be able to circulate and cook the wontons.

Fill a large skillet or saucepan with enough water to fill the skillet about 1-2 inches. I used between 2 to 3 cups of water. Place the bamboo steamer in the pan and turn the heat to high. Make sure that your water when boiling does not hit the wontons. You only want to steam them and not boil them. Steam the wontons for 10 minutes. 

*If you don't have a bamboo steamer you can boil the wontons in 5 cups of water for about 5 minutes.

While the wontons are steaming, combine chicken broth, white pepper, salt, and sesame oil in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Add cooked wontons to your soup bowl and pour hot broth over them. Garnish with green onions and cilantro. 

I hope you enjoy this wonderful soup! You can find Joy's original blog and recipe here. 

'Till next time,

Caroline

Chicken Andouille Gumbo

For Thanksgiving this year, my family rented a beach house in Destin, Florida. I don't claim to have a big family but I don't think it is small either. Due to work, family came and went the entire week but at any given time there were between 10 - 15 people all staying in the house. While down at the beach my family always makes a visit to either The Back Porch (best Mahi-Mahi Sandwhich you will ever have) or Busters (absolutely delicious gumbo)! This year The Back Porch won and we were all feeling a little gumbo deprived. So I decided one night that I would tackle some gumbo of my own. In honor of being at the beach I threw a little shrimp in the gumbo and here you have it, Chicken Andouille Gumbo! 

Ingredients:

8 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 links of Andouille Sausage

40-50 raw shrimp, deveined and shells removed

1/2 cup of canola oil

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups diced onion

2 heads of garlic, minced

2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced

6 celery ribs, diced

4 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce

8 teaspoons beef base (or 8 beef bouillon cubes)

10 cups hot water

2 & 1/3 cups frozen okra

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

4 Tablespoons fresh parsley, diced (optional)

salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste  

french bread or cooked rice

* I know what you are thinking... oh good grief that makes a lot of gumbo! And you are correct. If you need a meal to serve to a crowd then this is it. It serves between 12 - 16. You can easily haf the recipe to make it a little more manageable. But believe me, this is one gumbo that you will want leftovers of. 

Now this recipe has some serious prep work that has to go into before you can really get started. Get ready to do some serious chopping. Dice and chop your onions, bell peppers, garlic, and celery. Set the chopped vegetables aside. Slice the chicken breasts into strips and slice the andouille sausage into bite size pieces.

Once you have chopped and sliced all of your ingredients now the fun part starts. In a large stock pot (and I mean the biggest stock pot you own), heat up the canola oil over medium to medium high heat. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browed. Once the chicken is fully cooked (anywhere from 8-12 minutes), remove it with a slotted spoon and let it cool on a plate. Now add the andouille sausage and cook until brown and delicious. The sausage will release more fat and flavor into the pan. Once the sausage has browned, remove it with a slotted spoon and set it aside. 

Once you have removed the sausage from the stock pot, reduce the heat to medium low. Add 8 Tablespoons of butter to the stock pot. Don't worry about all the pan drippings from the chicken and sausage, that is what makes your roux delicious. Once the butter has melted, stir in 1 cup of all-purpose flour to the butter. Cook and stir for about 8-10 minutes until the roux has become a dark carmel color. While the flour and butter are cooking, start heating up the water.

Once the roux is a dark carmel color, add in your chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Season it with salt and pepper and stir it in completely.You will want the roux to coat most of the vegetables. Cook this for another 8-10 minuts. While it is cooking, mix together your beef base and worcestershire sauce and set aside. 

After cooking the chopped vegetables, stir in the hot water, beef base, and worcestershire sauce. You will want to make sure that the roux is completely dissolved and there are no lumps in your broth. 

Stir in the andouille sausage and shred the chicken into the gumbo. Next, stir in the can of crushed tomatoes and give it a nice long stir. Once everything is incorporated, bring the gumbo to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the gumbo is simmering, now is the time to sit back and take a little baby break. I made myself one of our family's famous Mojitos and watched the sunset go down. You really can't beat that view now can you?

Once you have simmered the gumbo for 30 minutes, add in the okra and cook the gumbo for another 1 & 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. 

When you have 10 minutes left to go, add in the raw shrimp and give it a final stir.

Depending on how you grew up eating gumbo, you can serve it over rice or let it stand alone with a nice piece of french bread. Garnish your gumbo with the fresh parsley and enjoy! 

'Till Next Time,
Caroline