Wonton noodles (Wan ton mein)

Freshly made wontons with a delicious prawn filling are served in a rich savoury broth with springy noodles and yellow chives. This dish can also be served 'dry' (wan ton lo mein), meaning the wontons are served on top of the noodles with no broth.

Wan ton mein (Wonton noodles) Credit: Alana Dimou

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  5:30 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 20 x 7 cm square yellow wonton wrappers
• 600 g wonton noodles
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 bunch Chinese yellow chives, cut into 4 cm lengths

Stock

• 100 g dried flounder (see Notes)
• 300 g pork bone (from your local Asian butcher)
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 10 g yellow rock sugar
• 2½ tsp dried shrimp roe (see Notes)
• 1 tsp crushed white peppercorns
• 60 g Jinhua ham

Wonton filling

• 300 g prawns, peeled and deveined
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp dried shrimp roe
• ¼ tsp dried flounder powder (see Notes)
• ½ tsp sesame powder
• ½ egg yolk
• ½ tsp caster (superfine) sugar
• ⅛ tsp ground white pepper

Soaking time: 20 minutes

Instructions

1. To make the stock, preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the dried flounder on a small baking tray and roast for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, soak the pork bone in water for about 20 minutes to remove any excess blood, then give it a good rinse. Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil, add the pork bone and blanch for about 5 minutes to remove any unpleasant smell. Drain.
3. Pour 2 litres fresh water into a medium saucepan, add the pork bone and all the stock ingredients and bring to a simmer, skimming off any impurities on the surface. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to very low and simmer the stock for about 5 hours. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
4. For the wonton filling, place the prawn meat in a medium bowl and add the salt. Using a clean hand, mix in one direction for about 1 minute until the mixture starts to get sticky. Add the remaining ingredients and mix again for another 1 minute.
5. Put about 2 teaspoons of filling into each wonton wrapper, moisten the edges with water and press firmly to close.
6. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, carefully add the wontons and boil for about 2 minutes until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon.
7. Using the same water, blanch the wonton noodles for about 30 seconds. Remove with a flat sieve or strainer and rinse under running water to cool down, then blanch again for about 30 seconds or until just cooked.
8. Put ½ teaspoon of the sesame oil into each serving bowl and top with yellow chive batons and five wontons. Add the cooked noodles and ladle over the stock. Serve immediately.

 

Notes

• If you can't get dried flounder, you could substitute with dried haddock from a Korean grocery. The powder is usually easier to find (substitute another dried fish powder or flake, like bonito, if unavailable) but don't use powder in the stock as it will make the soup cloudy.

• Dried shrimp roe is a condiment made by curing prawn eggs. Look for dried shrimp roe in your Asian supermarket. The good-quality stuff can be a little expensive, but it's delicious sprinkled on anything you want to impart a salty–umami flavour to, such as tofu.

Hong Kong Local by ArChan Chan, published by Smith Street Books (RRP $39.99). Photography by Alana Dimou.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.