Literary Lunch – Wonton Cabbage Soup

As the weather gets cooler, I’m so happy to pull out the big pots and make giant vats of soup. I’m a soups and stews kind of girl all year round, but especially during the cold winter months. A big bowl of soup and my current reads and you’ve got perfection.

Today I’m going with a wonton cabbage soup. The cabbage soup is so good on its own and perfect for days when you’re feeling a little stubborn and sad. But throw in some quality dumplings and you’ve got a wonton soup that challenges any wonton soup you’ve bought at the local Chinese restaurant.

This is my first recipe I’m sharing here. I’m not a recipe writer and I don’t use measurements, so when you make this recipe go with what you feel. I like my soups to be veggie heavy so it feels like I’m eating healthy.

All you need is:

• A small head of napa cabbage, chopped into 2-inch pieces (I don’t know, I just roughly chop it to whatever size makes it easier to eat)
• Three cloves of garlic minced
• A small nub of ginger grated (I like to use store bought grated ginger since I’m lazy and hate grating my own ginger)
• Some shredded carrots
• Two containers of chicken broth (or any broth you like if you wanna keep it vegetarian)
• Salt and pepper for flavor
• Your favorite brand of frozen dumplings (whatever you like as long as they’re not potstickers). I buy my frozen dumplings from an Asian supermarket, but you should find some in the frozen section of any grocery store.

Steps:

1. Throw your cabbage, carrots, ginger, garlic, and salt and pepper into a big old pot
2. Pour in both containers of broth. Just keep an eye on how much broth you’re adding here. You want to make sure to cover all the veggies
3. Turn on stove to medium high and let the broth come to a boil
4. Once it’s at a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover pot for 20 minutes to let the cabbage, garlic, ginger, and carrots cook through. You may need to do a little maintenance on your soup and skim for skuzz if it appears at the top.
5. After everything is cooked down, taste and season to how you like it.

At this point, your cabbage soup is done and you can actually have this on your own. It’s really good especially if you heat up some chicken and throw it in the pot too. Instant chicken soup!

But if you want to make this dumpling soup, here’s what you do:

1. In a separate pot, place a few dumplings at the bottom. You want to place as many dumplings as you can eat in one serving, so don’t throw in the entire bag of dumplings (unless you’re really hungry, no judgments).*
2. Ladle as much broth and veggies as you plan on eating and then turn on the stove to medium high heat. You want to let your dumplings warm through. I usually wait until the soup is bubbling again.

Once your dumplings are warm, ladle into bowls and enjoy!

Simple dipping sauce for dumplings: If you’re the kind of person who likes to dunk their dumplings in a little sauce, here’s a super simple one you can make. Just add equal parts soy sauce and white vinegar into a small sauce bowl and stir together. This combo will give you that vinegar-y, umami flavor to your dumplings and if you’re feeling really daring, you can put a little bit of sauce into your soup for extra flavor.

* Portioning out your dumplings is best since the skins are made of flour. Carbs (like bread, pasta, rice, etc) tends to expand in soups making them thick and mushy and bad for flavor. If you want to keep the integrity of your carb-y add-in, add them to your soup that you’ll serve and eat immediately.