Wild Wonton Soup

This wild wonton soup combines three of my favourite foods: wonton soup, freshly caught BC spot prawns and morels. It is the perfect spring soup – our prawning season is just around the corner (if only the snow would melt a little faster so we can get the boat out of the shed!), and the aspen stands behind our house will be littered with morels in only a couple more months. This recipe makes a soup that is filled with delicious ingredients and is hearty enough to make a filling dinner; if you want to serve as an appetizer, you can double the amount of broth to stretch the soup out even further.

Ingredients, For Wontons

1 lb ground pork (if you want, substitute half of the pork for ground wild game of your choice)
2 tsp finely minced ginger
2 tsp cane sugar
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 green onions, finely chopped
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

50 wonton wrappers

Ingredients, For Soup

3 tsp sesame oil
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp finely minced ginger
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup morels, sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped
1/2 of a pound spot prawns
4 green onions, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

In a small bowl, combine the ground pork, minced ginger, cane sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir until combined.

To fill your wonton wrappers, place one or two teaspoons of filling into the centre of the wrapper. Using water, dampen the edges of the wrapper, then fold into a wonton shape (there are several different methods to shaping wontons, and watching a 60-second YouTube video will make the process a breeze.)

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the wontons, and boil for approximately five minutes. The doneness can be tested by removing a wonton and slicing in half, making sure there is no pink left in the middle. Drain and set to the side.

Heat up the sesame oil in a large pot. Add the minced garlic and ginger, and fry until lightly browned. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Just before the broth reaches a rolling boil, add the morels, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and chopped green onions. Simmer for five to ten minutes – long enough that the vegetables are slightly softened, but still have some crunch to them.

While the soup is simmering, cook the prawns in a small pot of salted water (if you are using precooked prawns, you can throw them directly in with the rest of the soup ingredients). Cook for about five minutes, drain, and add into the soup pot.

Finally, take the wontons that were set to the side and add to the soup. If desired, sprinkle sesame seeds and freshly sliced green onions on top before serving.