There’s no doubt that my wife and I love asian food. We eat vegan dishes from throughout asia on a weekly basis. Also, Emily’s mom is the best chinese cook I’ve ever enjoyed a meal from. I’ve also learned a lot from her over the years. So, it should come as no surprise that wonton soup is one of our favorite dishes.

This tasty version comes from the awesome website Vegan Yum Yum. It’s easy to make and oh so good. Thanks Lolo! Visit her website for more great vegan recipes.

The original recipe called for seitan as the protein. However, I didn’t have any seitan when I made this so I used baked tofu instead.

Ingredients – Filling

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1-2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 cup chinese broccoli, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup baked tofu, chopped fine
• 1/2 teaspoon hot chili sauce, more if desired (like sriracha)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce

Ingredients – Broth

• 4 cups water
• 5-6 fresh ginger slices
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 cup chinese broccoli leaves, packed (sub: spinach or collards)

Directions – Filling

• Begin by chopping the Chinese broccoli very thinly with a sharp knife, from the base of the stem up towards the leaves (just like chopping scallions).
• Heat a large pan with oil and add the ginger.
• Once the ginger becomes fragrant, add the broccoli and tofu, stirring well and cooking until the broccoli is bright green and tender-crisp.
• Transfer the broccoli and tofu mixture to a small bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.
• Taste and adjust to your liking.
• Set aside while you make the broth.

Directions – Broth

• Heat all of the broth ingredients together except the greens in a small sauce pan, until sugar and salt is dissolved and the ginger has had time to infuse into the broth.
• Taste and add more salt if desired, but remember this is a mild broth that is only meant to be a complement to the wontons.
• Once the broth has begin to simmer, turn off heat and toss in greens.
• Cover and set aside.

Filling the Wontons

• Place 1-2 tsp of filling in the center of the wonton.
• Wet the edges of the wrapper with water (a finger dipped in water works great) and seal into a triangle, removing as much air as possible from the dumpling.
• Make sure edges are secured.
• Set the triangle in front of you, pointing up.
• Wet one of the bottom corners.
• Hold the corners, one between each thumb and forefinger.
• Begin to bend the wrapper, as if you were forcing it into a horseshoe shape.
• Don’t change your grip, and resist the urge to fold the corners over.
• Bring the two ends together, crossing them slightly, and press to seal.
• Going from the triangle shape to a completed wonton is one fluid motion.
• Your dumpling should look like a fun little fish-boat-hat.
• You can now freeze your dumplings, or cook them right away.

To Prepare the Soup

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
• Re-heat your broth to steaming, if necessary.
• Gently lower the wontons into the boiling water and cook until they become translucent, about 2-3 minutes if the wontons aren’t frozen, longer if they are.
• Remove them from the water with a spider (or other slotted spoon device) and place them into the hot broth.
• Take care to remove and discard any dumplings that have opened up during cooking.
• If they open, water gets inside, washes all the flavor away, and you’ll be sad if you serve it or eat it.
• It will taste like watery mush, and I promise you won’t be happy about it.
• Ladle 3-4 wontons into a bowl and add a small amount of broth, enough to half-way cover the wontons.
• Make sure to get some greens in there, too.
• Serve immediately.

---