photo: photo by arthritiskitchen.com

We order this at Chinese restaurants so often that I thought I would give it a shot at home. I merged numerous recipes to come up with this one that was a big hit and much easier than expected. The uncooked wontons can be frozen for up to 1 month. Do not thaw the frozen wontons before cooking; add them directly to the boiling soup and cook until tender, 6 to 9 minutes.

Wontons
6 ounces ground beef
½ large egg white, lightly beaten
2 medium scallions, minced
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
25 wonton wrappers

Soup
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 ounces ground beef
1 onion, chipped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, sliced thin and smashed
8 cups chicken broth
1 carrot, peeled and grated
3 scallions, sliced

To prepare wontons:
Combine all ingredients (except wrappers) in medium bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and freeze until chilled, about 10 minutes. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay 3 wrappers on dry work surface. Place 1 slightly rounded teaspoon filling in center of wrapper, brush edges lightly with water, and fold wrapper into wonton.

Place wonton on baking sheet and repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Loosely cover wontons with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or up to 4 hours.

For the soup:
Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground beef, onion, garlic and ginger and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover partially and cook 25 minutes. Strain if you wish.

Return strained broth to clean saucepan and bring to boil. Carefully add wontons, carrot and scallions and simmer until wontons are tender, about 5 minutes. Serve.