Cantonese Wonton Noodle Soup (港式云吞面)

Hong Kong-style wonton noodle soup with shrimp-and-pork wontons, thin egg noodles, and a light shrimp-infused chicken broth.

Ingredients

1 pack		super thin wonton wrappers, thawed
11 ounces	310 g	headless shell-on shrimp, peeled and de-veined, chopped into 1/2 cm (1/16 inch) pieces (wonton)
5 ounces	140 g	ground pork (20% fat) (wonton)
1 tbsp	15 ml	Japanese sake (or rice wine)
1		egg, separated (yolk for the filling, white for wrapping)
1 tbsp	15 ml	light soy sauce (wonton)
1 tbsp	15 ml	sesame oil
1/2 tsp	2.5 ml	ginger, finely grated
1 tsp	5 ml	salt
1/8 tsp	0.6 ml	white pepper
1 pack (400g / 14 oz)		Hong Kong style wonton noodles
10 cups	2.4 l	chicken stock (homemade works best)
3 tbsp	45 ml	dried shrimp
6 tbsp	90 ml	light soy sauce (soup)
6 tsp	30 ml	sesame oil (soup)
2 to 3		green onions, chopped
4		baby bok choy, quartered (or 4 cups mustard greens, or spinach) (optional)

Prep:

Thaw wonton wrappers. Place dried shrimp in a small bowl and add warm water to cover. Let rehydrate for at least an hour at room temperature (or in the fridge for half a day).

Wonton:

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the wonton filling, except the egg white. Mix well with a spatula.
Prepare a large tray or plate. Spray a thin layer of oil on the bottom to prevent sticking.
Work on the wontons one at a time. Place about half a teaspoon of filling (or 1 teaspoon for bigger wontons) on the lower third of the wrapper. Fold the bottom side over the filling, then roll the filling all the way across to the other side of the wrapper. Brush a thin layer of egg white on one end of the wonton wrapper. Bind both ends and press together to lock the filling inside the wrapper. Place on a big plate, a finger's width apart.
When you finish 10 to 15 wontons, cover them with a wet paper towel to prevent them from drying out.
If you are not going to cook and serve the wontons immediately, store them in the fridge for a day, or freeze them for up to a month. Seal the tray with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. When completely frozen, transfer them to an airtight ziplock bag to free up freezer space.

Wonton noodle soup:

Prepare a big pot for cooking the wontons and noodles. Add about 4 liters (1 gallon) of water and bring it to a boil.
Combine chicken stock and rehydrated dried shrimp in another pot. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 minutes.
Prepare 6 large bowls. Add 2 tablespoons green onion, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil into each bowl. Pour in 1 and 1/2 cups broth.
Add noodles into the large pot. Cook according to instructions. Transfer some into each serving bowl.
Add wontons into the large pot. Stir gently with a spatula constantly to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. Cook until the wontons are floating on top. Transfer some into each bowl.
(Optional) Blanch some greens in the large pot. Transfer onto the wonton bowls to garnish.

To cook frozen wonton:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add wonton. Stir gently to prevent from sticking. Cook until bringing the water to a boil again. Turn to medium-low heat. Cover the pot with a small gap on one side, to prevent from spilling. Keep boiling for 2 minutes (3 minutes for larger wontons). Stand beside the pot and monitor the broth. If the broth starts to spill, uncover and stir, and place the cover back. Uncover, keep cooking for another minute, or until the wonton is cooked through.

Notes:

Fully thaw the wrappers first; they are easier to work with at room temperature. If still cool, they are too rigid to fold and difficult to seal.
You should have one pound of shrimp and pork combined. Always use much more shrimp than pork.
Use 3/4 teaspoon salt if you plan to wrap bigger wontons.
If using frozen noodles, you do not need to thaw them before cooking.