I love home made wanton soup because I like the wrapping process. No, really. I like to wrap wantons! I wrap mine this way:

1) Put a glob of filling in the center of the wanton skin and fold it into a triangle.
2) Use a bit of water to seal the edges. Then, holding both ends of the triangle, fold them over the top so that both ends meet.

Some people choose to fold it into an ingot shape, or twist it into something like a money bag, which is fun! Mine’s something like this:

For more ways on how to wrap wantons, check this page out.

Whenever I eat wantons soup in Hong Kong, they always come with lots of sweet yellow chives. It is almost impossible to find yellow chives in the local markets so I had no choice but to leave them out. The vegetable seller told me that yellow chives spoil quickly and she has not seen them for years. If you know of where I can get yellow chives, please leave a comment below!

When making wanton, I always add tiny dried shrimps to the pork, shrimp and mushroom filling. I get mine from Giant and also use it when stir frying vegetables and chicken. The dried shrimps lend a good savoury flavour to the minced meat and prawn filling. Here’s what the packet looks like:

Ready to make some easy wantons? Me too!

Makes 30 wantons (4 large servings)

What I used:

1 pack of 30 wanton wrappers
200g minced pork (marinated in 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, 1 sachet sugar, white pepper, a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon corn flour)
200g small prawns (soak in cold water + one sachet sugar for 15 mins, drain, then cut each prawn into half)
5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water til plump and sliced thinly
1 tablespoon dried shrimp as above
1 litre chicken stock
A handful green leafy vegetables
A small bowl of tap water to moisten the wanton skin when wrapping
A sprinkling of sesame oil and white pepper

1. Mix the prawns, mushrooms and dried shrimps with the minced pork mixture.
2. To wrap wantons, place a wrapper in your palm and spoon a teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold into a triangle and use a bit of water to seal the edges. Then, holding both ends of the triangle, fold them over the top so that both ends meet.
3. Heat up the chicken stock til boiling, then add the leafy vegetables. Slowly drop in the wantons til they are cooked and have floated to the top.
4. Sprinkle the white pepper and sesame oil and serve immediately.

How much I spent:

$2 for wanton wrappers
$1.60 for minced pork
$2 for prawns
$0.30 for vegetables
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $1.47

——————————————————————

I decided to make these for lunch because I found a packet of wanton wrappers in the fridge after 88 went to the supermarket- a clear sign that she wanted me to make some wantons! She is quite cute– she doesn’t tell me to cook a particular dish but when I find something in the fridge that I did not buy, it’s a hint for me to cook her that something. Since she “asked” for them, she got them! You can choose to add egg noodles into the soup which is what I’m gonna do when I cook these again. Then maybe, I’m gonna experiment with folding them differently.

Do you have a favourite way of folding wantons?

The post Shrimp and Mushroom Wanton Soup appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I usually cook soups with onions, garlic, ginger, carrots in a chicken stock base. Plus whatever vegetables I want. Not this time. The napa cabbage, honey dates and dried cuttlefish (optional, actually) were enough to create a subtly sweet and savoury flavour. I didn’t even add chicken stock cubes, but did add some oyster sauce. I simmered it for 1.5 hours on low flame. The end result? A comforting, rich and extremely flavourful soup guaranteed to warm your heart and tummy.

Makes 6 servings

What I used:

1 napa cabbage (I don’t know the weight, but the size I used cost $2.30 from the supermarket. Please use the pricing as a gauge)
16 fuzhou fishballs
10 fishballs
10 prawn balls
10 fresh minced meat balls (mix minced chicken or pork with some flour and shape into balls)
6 ngoh hiangs
3 honey dates
1 piece dried cuttlefish
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
White pepper
Water

1. Use a large pot enough for your napa cabbage. Wash and chop cabbage into approx 1.5 inches in width.
2. Fill the pot with the cabbage, honey dates, dried cuttlefish and water til it comes up to 3/4 of the pot. Bring to boil and lower flame.
3. Add in all the balls + oyster sauce. Simmer for 1.5 hours in low heat or til the cabbage is soft and soup slightly thickened.
4. Do a taste test and add some light soy sauce if you find it not salty enough. Add white pepper when ready. Enjoy hot with warm rice!

How much I spent: 

$2.30 for cabbage
$2.90 for fuzhou fishballs
$1.20 for ngoh hiang
$2.50 for prawn balls
$1.50 for fishballs
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $1.78

——————————————————————-

This large pot can actually serve 7-8 people as an accompaniment to other dishes, but I’m quite sure everyone will ask for refills so go ahead and cook a big pot! Leftovers, if any, are great kept in the fridge and reheated for lunch the next day. Don’t cheat by adding too many deep fried items if not the soup will be quite salty and oily. I don’t recommend those flat ngoh hiangs. These rolled types are good to soak up all the goodness of the soup. And as always, eat your soup, not drink it! :)

The post Chinese Soup: Napa Cabbage with Fuzhou Fishballs appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

You know what “they” say about eating cooling soups on hot days? Believe “them”, because it is true.. the heatiness in your body really does go away with a bowl of wintermelon soup!

I have never really understood ingredients with “cooling” or “warming” properties. All I know by hearsay is that wintermelon, waterchestnut, barley, etc, are “cooling” and longan, red dates, and meats like mutton are “heaty”. No wonder “people” always say taking Soup Kambing will result in nose bleed! And did you know that according to this website, ginger and garlic are considered “heaty” food too? For an extensive list of Traditional Chinese Medicine herbs with hot and cold properties, check this page out too. Now I know why Ah-mm kept feeding me 金银花 (Honeysuckle flower) when I was a pimply kid in primary 5. You know what “they” say about old people knowing best? They really do!

So I decided to cook wintermelon soup with pork balls the other day because I was bored of my vegetable soup, and figured Ah-mm, 88 and Jason must be too. I also got some waterchestnuts because if you wanna be cool, you might as well go all the way, right?

Makes 4 servings

What I used:

1 disc wintermelon, skin discarded and cut into approx 1-inch pieces (about $0.85 to $1 from supermarkets)
1 small piece dried cuttlefish
12 waterchestnuts, peel and chop 6 of them and leave the rest whole
200g minced pork, marinated with: A) half teaspoon light soy sauce B) a splash of chinese cooking wine C) sesame oil D) half teaspoon corn starch E) a dash of pepper
1.5 litres water
2 honeydates
Light soy sauce, to taste

1. Mix the chopped waterchestnuts into the marinated minced pork and set aside til later.
2. Place cuttlefish, whole waterchestnuts, honeydates, wintermelon and water into a pot and bring to boil. Lower flame and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Season with light soy sauce and do a taste test.
4. Increase flame to medium. When soup is bubbling gently, shape minced pork into balls and add one by one into the pot. Cook for another 3-5 minutes and soup is ready. Easy!

How much I spent:

$0.95 for wintermelon
$0.50 for cuttlefish
$1 for waterchestnuts
$2.20 for minced pork
$0.40 for honeydates
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $1.27

——————————————————————-

You can add some cai xin if there’s no other veggie dish on the dinner table. Alex (my eldest brother) loved the soup and why wouldn’t he? The honeydates and cuttlefish lent a savoury touch, and the wintermelon and waterchestnuts made the soup subtly sweet. Not only does this simple soup win you over in terms of taste, because of its “cooling properties” this will be great for Mondays and your rising temper. Try this tonight!

(p/s- Please eat your soup, not drink it!)

The post Chinese Soup: Wintermelon Soup with Pork Balls appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.