Wonton Soup in a Hurry

Early in the lockdown, there were a lot of "How To Stock Your Pantry" articles with lists of non-perishable items that would help us cook and eat at home while sheltering in place. Many of these items did not make sense for us -- like canned vegetables, fruits, and beans -- but we did stock up on rice, flour, pasta, lentils, and chicken stock. We have been gradually eating our way through all the stuff, complementing with protein and fresh vegetables (which we are still lucky to get). The cartons of low-sodium chicken stock, however, remained unused. Chicken stock is not a frequent flyer in my kitchen, its use limited to the times I make soups in winter. Since the stores were completely out of canned soups, I thought that having the chicken stock at hand would allow me to make some home-made soups.

Well, after seven weeks of cooking at home, I still had not managed to make a soup and the weather was no longer ideal for soup-eating. As the towers of rice, pasta, and lentils started shrinking, the unused cartons of low-sodium chicken stock became more prominent on the pantry shelves, begging the question: "Why did we buy so much of this stuff?" So, this Friday, during a break between meetings, I made a quick chicken wonton soup that took 30 minutes between prepping the ingredients to getting in our bellies. With mini wontons floating in a sea of flavored chicken stock, the soup helped me put at least a dent in our chicken stock supply.

This soup comes together in no time if you have frozen wontons in the freezer and of course, chicken stock. The aromatics I added are my improvisations from a Vietnamese Phö recipe -- so you can skip some if you don't have them on hand. I would say soy sauce and ginger are the only essentials.

What You Need:
2 cartons of low-sodium chicken stock (32 oz each)
1 package frozen mini wontons (I used the 12 oz Trader Joe's Chicken Mini Wontons)
1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 green onion stalks (white and green parts separated & chopped into thin slices)
5-6 green coriander stalks (separate stalks and leafy parts)
2 tbsp soy sauce (adjust according to taste)
1 tsp rice vinegar or distilled vinegar
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 star anise
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tbsp neutral oil
Salt to taste

Directions:
Heat oil in a large stock pot. Add coriander seeds and star anise. Wait for spices to sizzle.
Add ginger and white parts of green onions. Fry over medium heat. Add black pepper, garlic and coriander stalks. Continue frying for 1 minute -- making sure the garlic does not burn.
Pour two cartons of chicken stock into the pan and bring to a boil. (Answer some emails as you are waiting for this to happen :-)
Once the stock has come to a boil, add soy sauce and vinegar. Stir to combine and let stock simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt per taste.
Add frozen wontons and green parts of the spring onion. Raise heat and boil for two minutes.
Remove from heat. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
Your wonton soup is ready!