Chicken Wonton Soup

I'd tried wonton soups a few times, meeting with disappointment.  But when I saw the ingredient list for this one, I decided to try it one more time.  A very good choice.

When I served it, Jim said it reminded him of a wonton soup we used to eat at a restaurant when we were first married in Beaumont, TX.  Generally, wonton soups are just broth with wontons.  This one is filled with vegetables.  Really quite easy and really so good.

I found the recipe on David Venable's blog (QVC).  I'll list the recipe as he posted it, but I did change the ground pork to ground chicken and the beef broth to chicken broth.  I also halved the recipe (my recipe made more wontons then his did, for some reason) and I used button mushrooms, because that's what I had on hand.  A wonderful and quick side dish to any Chinese dish you make.

PORK WONTON SOUP (Recipe didn't state, but I would guess this full recipe would probably make about 6 large servings)

Wontons:
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp shallots, minced
2 tsp garlic, minced
3/4 cup lean ground pork
1/4 tsp ground black pepper (maybe less if using chicken broth)
1/4 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
24 wonton wrappers (my 1/2 recipe made about 18)

 Soup:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cups carrots, shredded
1 cup red bell peppers, thinly sliced
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
2 tsp ginger, grated, or finely minced
1 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
10 cups fat-free, low-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 cups shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

To prepare the wontons, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized skillet.  Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the pork, black pepper, and coriander and cook until the pork is no longer pink, about 6 minutes.  Stir in the soy sauce the remove the pan from the heat.

One by one, brush the edges of each wonton wrapper with water and place 1-2 tsp of filling in the center.  Fold the wonton in half (to form a triangle) and seal the edges.  Brush the wonton with a little more water and join two of the triangle tips together.  Press to bind.  Refrigerate (covered) until needed.  (Unused wrappers can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for other uses).

To prepare the soup, heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the carrots, red peppers, green onions, celery, ginger, and black pepper and cook for 5 minutes.  Pour the soy sauce and beef broth into the pot and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the wontons and shitake mushrooms.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes.