Wontons in Beetroot Mushroom Soup

 

In breakfast cafes, normally the wonton soup is clear and full of MSG (monosodium glutamate) to enhance the flavour but this is a tasty variation of soup with beetroot and chinese mushrooms. Make a large batch of soup beforehand and save some for the wontons the next day.

Prep 30 mins  Cooking time 30 mins

INGREDIENTS:

WONTONS (about 25-28)

300 g pork mince

2 spring onions, chopped

1/2 carrot, finely chopped

2 tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp corn flour dissolved in a little water for sealing wonton's edge

Wonton skins

SOUP

1 ready-packed cooked beetroot (350 grams)

8 dried dates

10 shitake mushrooms, rehydrated

METHOD:

1) To prepare the soup: Use ready-packed cooked beetroot in the supermarket is just as good to use as fresh beetroot which has to be peeled. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, then drain, remove the stems and slice into 3 sections;

2) Boiled about 1 litre (for approximately 20- 25 wontons) of water and add all the soup ingredients (beetroot, dates and mushrooms). Increase quantities accordingly if wanted the soup for more wontons and this step can be done the day before;

3) Mix all the ingredients together for the wontons. Again, this step can be done the day before and the pork mince will have more flavour the next day as well as ready for wrapping with the wonton skins;

4) Wrap wontons and cook them in another pot of boiling water so that the starch off the wonton skins will not add to the taste of the soup, until they are cooked before having it with the beetroot mushroom soup;

5) If the beetroot mushroom soup is prepared the day before, make sure it is on a rolling boil before serving it with the wontons.