Chinese Takeout Wonton Soup Secrets Revealed

A lot of people struggle with making a proper takeout-style wonton soup at home, so today I'll explain everything you need to know about the broth, the dumplings, and the exact brands most takeout kitchens use to make this iconic dish. To get started, we'll first address the broth. One of the main reasons your wonton soup at home tastes differently from your favorite takeout joint is that you're likely using the wrong kind of chicken broth. Most takeout kitchens use an Asian-style chicken bouillon base. But what are the differences between Western-style and Asian-style chicken broths? In the West, our broths and stocks often use a mirepoix. This is a vegetable mixture of onions, carrots, and celery. You'll also find other aromatics like black peppercorns, parsley, bay leaves, and sometimes herbs like thyme and rosemary. The flavor profile of these ingredients is completely different from an Asian-style chicken broth, which generally includes only chicken, green onions, and ginger. A Western-style broth is fine, if that's all you can find. But for the classic takeout flavor, grab a can of Asian-style chicken bouillon powder. I've been in dozens of takeout kitchens over the years, and the two most common brands I see in most of them are Knorr Chicken Flavor Broth Mix and Lee Kum Kee Chicken Bouillon Powder. You'll know you've got the right kind if you see Chinese characters on the packaging. Now I'll show you how to make two different versions of the broth, a simple basic takeout style and an aromatic infused broth with Chinese rice wine you'll find at more upscale restaurants. For the basic broth, we'll start by adding 6 cups of water to a large pot. Heat the water to a simmer and add your chicken bouillon powder. Whisk it in until it's dissolved and kill the heat. Then add 1 teaspoon of table salt, ¼ teaspoon of MSG, ¼ teaspoon of sugar, 1 pinch of white pepper, ½ teaspoon of light soy sauce, and ¼ teaspoon of toasted sesame oil. Whisk all the seasonings in, give the broth a taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. And this is a classic takeout style chicken broth. Super simple. Once it's cooled off, you can store the broth in a covered container in the fridge for about 3-5 days, and you can freeze it for about 3 months. Now, it's essentially the same process for the slightly more upscale broth, but we'll infuse some aromatics into it and add some Chinese rice wine that will give some depth and complexity to the soup. So we'll start by adding 6 cups of water to a large pot. Bring the water up to a simmer and add the chicken bouillon powder. Whisk until it's dissolved and lower the heat until it's just under a simmer. Then toss in 2 garlic cloves, 2 small pieces of ginger, and the whites of 2 scallions. And one of the things you can do to increase the flavor is to lightly pound the aromatics before adding them to the broth. This will help them release more flavor compounds by rupturing some of the cell walls so they can expel more of their essential oils into the broth. Then you'll infuse the aromatics for about 30 minutes, and keep it at just below a simmer. If the broth is at a rolling boil, it'll reduce too much and become much too concentrated. After the aromatics have infused, remove them from the broth and turn off the heat. Then add 1 teaspoon of table salt, ¼ teaspoon of MSG, ¼ teaspoon of granulated sugar, 1 pinch of white pepper, ½ teaspoon of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine, and ¼ teaspoon of toasted sesame oil. Whisk all the seasonings in, give the broth a taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Once it's cooled off, you can store the broth in a covered container in the fridge for about 3-5 days. Now, for the dumplings, I'll show you how to make the two most popular shapes and explain why you should never cook them in the broth, but before we get to that, I'd like to take a moment to thank today's video sponsor, Made In. If you watch my videos regularly, you may have noticed I've been using some new cookware in them. One of the main reasons I switched to Made In is because they design professional quality products that are ideal for the home cook. And one of the best ways to level up your culinary game is to use the kitchen where professional chefs are using in the world's best kitchens. For our wonton broth today, I'm using Made In's 4-quart stainless saucepan. And there are a few reasons I prefer Made In's stainless collection over literally any other brand. Firstly, they have the best handles on the planet. And they're specifically designed to stay cool while on the stovetop. So you'll never have to worry about burning your hand on a red-hot handle again. Secondly, the entire stainless collection is engineered with rolled rims, which allow you to easily pour from the pans without spilling. Made In has partnered with multi-generational factories and craftsmen in Italy to bring you hand-picked stainless pieces that every home cook needs in their kitchen. And you can check out the entire stainless collection and Made In's other cookware by using the link in my description to save on your order. Now, for the dumplings, making them by hand may seem daunting at first, but they're actually quite easy to prepare. It may take you a few tries to get it right, but I'll give you a few tips so you can make them much easier. So what kind of wonton wrappers are most takeout restaurants using? You'll see several different styles at most Asian grocery stores, and this is an oversimplification. But there are two main types of skins used for wontons. For the Southern Chinese dumplings, they're often a yellowish color, and they'll often be labeled as Hong Kong style. You typically won't find many takeout restaurants using this type. What is much more common is the Northern Chinese style of wrapper, which is white, specifically the extra-thin variety. The most common brand I've seen in most takeout kitchens is Twin Marquis extra-thin wonton wrapper. If you're not able to track down Twin Marquis, just get the thinnest, square, white wonton wrapper you can find. Any brand that's labeled as wonton wrapper will work fine for this recipe. Now for the filling, the most classic version is made with ground pork and finely minced shrimp. If this isn't kosher or halal, feel free to use ground chicken or turkey. I would suggest ground chicken or turkey thighs because the breast meat tends to dry out a bit more. But they're much better with pork and shrimp, and to suggest otherwise is slanderous. When you're buying the pork, try to get the fattiest version you can find. The fat will help emulsify the mixture and the shrimp will plump up and give you that traditional springy texture. To prepare the filling for the dumplings, we'll start by finely mincing half a pound of peeled and deveined shrimp. And you really want to chop it as fine as you can. You want to turn it into a paste almost. And we'll add the minced shrimp to half a pound of ground pork in a large bowl. Then toss in one teaspoon of table salt, one teaspoon of white sugar, a quarter teaspoon of MSG, a quarter teaspoon of ground white pepper, one teaspoon of grated garlic, one teaspoon of grated ginger, one teaspoon of cornstarch, one teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, one and a half teaspoons of light soy sauce, two teaspoons of Shaoxing rice wine, two tablespoons of water, half a teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder, and one tablespoon of finely minced green onions. When you've got all the spices and aromatics added, you'll want to squeeze them into the mixture with your hand like this until everything is well incorporated. And you might think there's too much liquid at first, but it will eventually emulsify into the filling. And this is how we'll ensure our dumplings stay extra juicy. Then, using your hand, you'll stir the mixture around like this in one direction for several minutes until you notice little strands developing into the filling. The reason you'll mix like this in one direction is that it will form microscopic links of protein which will give you that characteristic bouncy, springy texture of classic Chinese dumplings. You'll know the filling is ready when you see what appear to be tiny threads like this. And you can use this immediately or store it in the fridge for up to two days. To make the dumplings, the most classic shape you'll find in wonton soup at takeout restaurants is called the pouch or the cloud shape. What you'll do is place one of the wonton wrappers in front of you like a diamond. Then put about one teaspoon of filling directly in the middle of the wrapper. Wet two edges of the dumpling skin with water. Then bring up the bottom corner of the skin to meet the top corner like this so they match up and lightly press them together so they seal. Press down like this until you feel the top of the filling. Then bring up both sides so they come together at the top. Then lightly press down all around the top of the filling trying to get out as much air as possible so it forms a little ball at the bottom of the dumpling. One of the main reasons wontons come apart when they're cooking is because people leave too much air in their dumplings. And this is the most classic shape of wonton dumpling you'll find in a majority of takeout restaurants. Now for the slightly more complicated version or what is called the water caltrop shape. You'll start by laying down a wrapper in front of you just like we did with the last dumpling. Then place about two to three teaspoons of filling directly in the middle. Wet all four edges of the wrapper with water. Now bring up the corner facing you to the top corner and press down on both sides to form a triangle like this. Lightly press down around the filling to get the air out and place the dumpling in your hand with the top corner facing your thumb. Then wet one of the bottom corners with water and bring the dry corner around the bottom so it overlaps with the wet corner and lightly press them together so they seal. Pull up the top flap if it's folded downward. And the finished dumpling should look like this with a slight dimple at the bottom of the filling. And once you get comfortable you should be able to make these in your hand. It's much faster but if you've never made dumplings before I think it's best to start with the wrapper on the table. And these are ready to cook right away but if you want to make a big batch and store them for later just line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the dumplings on it so they're not touching. Then cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for about two hours. Once they're frozen you can place them in a large ziplock bag to save on space. They'll stay good in the freezer for about two to three months. When you're ready to make the wonton soup start by heating some of the broth until it's hot. And you never want to cook the wontons directly in the broth. The reason is because the skins are covered in starch to keep them from sticking together and this can cloud the broth and make the wontons really gummy if they sit in it for too long. So to cook the wontons in a separate pot heat some water until it starts to boil. Then lower the heat until it's simmering and place the wontons in the water. And you want to give the dumplings a little stir right after you put them in the water because they'll sink and the skins will stick to the bottom and rip the dumplings. The cooking time varies but for both of the shapes we've made today it generally takes about four to six minutes. A lot of people say you'll know the dumplings are ready when they start to float but I've found a much better indicator of doneness is when the wrappers turn translucent and you can see that the filling has plumped up. When they're done remove the dumplings from the water, drain them thoroughly and place them in a large bowl. Pour over enough broth to cover the wontons and garnish with some thinly sliced green onion. And this is a classic takeout style wonton soup. Now very quickly before our taste test I want to show you another dish you can make if you want to mix things up and you've got a ton of wontons in your freezer. I learned about these dumplings in sweet chili oil sauce from Fuchsia Dunlop's book Every Grain of Rice which I love and you should totally get if you don't have it. So these are basically the wontons prepared exactly as we've done previously but they're doused in a sweet aromatic soy sauce with chili oil and crispy garlic and they're amazing. To make the sauce let's start by adding half a cup of light soy sauce to a small pot. Then toss in three quarter cup of water and bring it up to a boil. Then add a third of a cinnamon stick, half a teaspoon of fennel seeds, half of a star anise pod, half a teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns, and one small piece of lightly crushed ginger. Lower the heat to a light simmer and infuse the aromatics for about 30 minutes. Then kill the heat and whisk in three tablespoons of brown sugar, strain the sauce to remove the spices, and you can store the sauce in a covered container in the fridge indefinitely. To prepare the dish layer the cooked wontons in a large bowl and pour over the sweet aromatic soy sauce, some chili oil, a bit of crispy garlic, and finally some thinly sliced scallions. And these dumplings are one of my favorite dishes of all time so I implore you to try them if you have a couple of extra frozen wontons on hand. Alright back to the taste test. I mean this is a classic for a reason it's incredibly delicious and if you freeze the broth and dumplings you should be able to whip this up in about 10 minutes. And if you'd like to learn how to make traditional Thailand style pad thai at home be sure to check out this video. Thanks for watching. See you next time.