It was cold this weekend! Really cold and I am so glad I prepared for it ahead of time and made Janet & Greta Podleski‘s Obi Wonton Kenobi soup from their The Looneyspoons Collection on Friday so we could enjoy it all weekend!
As I mentioned in my New Year Mulligan post, I am doing my best to not go out and buy specialty food items for recipes. In the case of this recipe, I did buy wonton wrappers but did not buy ground chicken/turkey or use reduced-sodium soy sauce. Instead I chopped up two chicken breasts and used regular soy since I actually have problems with low blood pressure but will write out the recipe Podleski style:
Obi Wonton Kenobi
Combine 8 oz (227 g) ground chicken or turkey with 1/4 cup minced green onions, 2 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1 egg white and 1/4 tsp salt. (I omitted the salt because I used regular soy sauce)
Mix well. Which for me was easy to do in a food processor because I was using chicken breasts but if you are using ground meat then just use a spoon or your hands.
Working one at a time, place 1 tsp of filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper. Fold one side over the filling to make a triangle. Moisten edges and press down to seal.
Now they did not say what to use to moisten the edges so I just used water. I actually moistened the edges first, then enclosed the filling in the triangle shape and pushed out any air that may be inside.
I moistened a clean towel and kept the dumplings covered as I worked
“Bring the two points of the base of the triangle around filling, overlap them, moisten and press together.”
I am terrible with written instructions! I think I did it right but again, I moistened with water first so the two bottom points stuck after I overlapped them. This is almost like a tortellini, it is just missing the cap on top.
This recipe used up one side of the wonton package perfectly! I have the other half in the freezer. No waste, I love it!
I brought a large pot of water to boil over high heat and then added the wontons. I stirred a few times to make sure that they did not stick either to the pot or to each other. I boiled them for 5 minutes and then removed them with a slotted spoon and drained well.
This really is a “Simple Chinese soup” the way the book claims which is good because making all those dumplings is time consuming. I was quite grateful the soup was so easy to make.
Bring 6 cups of sodium-reduced chicken broth to a boil and add 1/4 cup green onions and 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips. The basil have added to my grocery bill so I just added flat leaf Italian parsley instead. Also add 1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp grated gingerroot. Simmer uncovered for 2 minutes.
I have to say this soup is simplicity at its best. It tastes like Vancouver! It took us back to our old life in little Chinatown. It truly tasted authentic. Reg could not get enough of it and neither could I.
If you do not find this soup flavourful, it actually may not have enough salt. Personally, when I make this again, I will boil the dumplings in salted water and I would stick with using regular soy sauce. If you are on a special diet, however, this will be a treat even with the reduced salt.
I have not enjoyed a soup this much in years. I think it is genius and Reg did too. That is very rare and so is my five out of five wooden spoons rating for it! It is delicious and something I will make all the time now. Again, very rare.
Thanks Janet and Greta!
Debra She Who Seeks says
I love their crazy puns!
AvaDJ says
I know my family will absolutely love this soup, going to look up the recipe in my book. I LOVE their new cookbook, they did an amazing job with it. Your soup photo is gorgeous, very appetizing.
Made their Faux Fried Chicken the other night with breast meat (cut into strips, instead of drums and thighs), it was a hit served with wing hot sauce for dipping.
Tournesol says
Yum, this soup looks really good. 5 of 5, definitely going to try this one!
Kim with a K says
Thanks for the great review!
I bought this book based on your last review and really like the stir fry sauce…although I added a little hoisin sauce to it…
This looks like a recipe I would have easily decided was too time consuming…now I can’t wait to give it a try…especially living in Vancouver!
AvaDJ says
I made this soup for dinner tonite, used ground chicken, and it is most definitely a 5 out of 5 and more! I even made a double batch for the five of us and it was all gone (I was hoping for at least some leftovers for lunch). Clearly a hit!
Foodie Frannie says
I make wonton quite often and my recipe is similar to this. I use Epicure’s chicken boulion which is very low in sodium. For the meat, I use ground pork and a bit of chinese 5 spice (again from epicure) and that’s it! Very authentic, west coast taste. I add brocolli, baby boc choy, carrots etc as well to make it even more healthy. My family loves it. Sometimes I’ve taken the other half of the package and put cream cheese and jam in them and then deep fried and served with a dusting of icing sugar. A yummy treat. A time saving tip I have though is to make them in batches. I lay out about 12 at a time on my cutting board and place the filling on all of them at once, then I make the triange on all of them, then I bring the points together. I boil the first batch while setting up the next. It seems to go quick that way. I use milk to make mine stick but just because that’s what the package said to use.
PS
I made this for lunch the day you made yours I think. lol