Green Curry Wonton Soup

This dish was the second course at our most recent forest feast, and was my favorite of the night. A Thai-inspired take on wonton soup, it consists of chewy little wontons stuffed with scallion and basil-infused shrimp and pork, floating in a simple coconut and green curry broth. Fusion food is a tricky thing, it can certainly come off gimmicky or simply miss the mark, but, in the parlance of the youth, this dish slaps.

Now, I can definitely see how this dish would feel out of some folks comfort zone, but it is actually really easy. With a packet of wrappers from the store, making wontons is a piece of cake. All you have to do is mix up a few ingredients and fold them into a cute shape. There are lots of ways to fold up wontons, but I always use what I believe is called the bonnet technique because it is quite easy. I’ll try to describe it in the directions, but you can also just google it (and then you’ll get some nice visual aids and whatnot).

My only other tip is to use good curry paste and good fish sauce. The broth is simple, so it really depends on a good curry paste. I like the Mae Ploy brand: it’s the stuff they used at our favorite Thai takeout in Boulder. For fish sauce, you can’t go wrong with Three Crabs. I’ve included Amazon affiliate links for educational purposes, but if possible you should stop by your local Asian market. Not only will you be keeping a few extra bucks out of daddy Bezos’s pocket, you’ll probably find lots of other fun stuff while you’re there.

That’s about all there is to it. Now it’s your turn.

Green Curry Wonton Soup
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
Wontons:
1 packet wonton wrappers
½ cup ground pork
½ cup raw shrimp, peeled and minced
2 tbsp scallions, minced
2 tbsp basil, minced
1 tbsp fish sauce
⅛ tsp white pepper

Broth:
4 tbsp green curry paste
2 cups coconut milk (one can)
1 tbsp sugar
4 cups light broth (chicken, vegetable, etc.)

Directions:
To make the wontons, begin by mixing together the ingredients in a large bowl. In the center of each wonton wrapper, spoon around 1 teaspoon of filling. Wet the edges and fold the wrapper in half, pinching to seal it. Then grab the two back corners and fold them together, creating a crease in the pocket of filling. This should make a cute little wonton that looks a little bit like a round face wearing a bonnet. Now make the rest of the wontons.

For the broth, start a large pot over high heat. Once hot, add the curry paste and coconut milk and stir until the fat melts. Next, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. And then add the broth.

Once the pot reaches a gentle boil, drop in the wontons. When they all float to the surface, they are cooked, and the soup can be removed from heat. Allow it to cool a bit before serving.

Enjoy!