Mi Hoanh Thanh (Vietnamese Wonton Noodle Soup)

The other night while I was at Kang Kang Food Court - Alhambra, I noticed that the lights were off at Won Ton Time. Actually, I've seen the closed sign for a while so I guess it's a permanent closure? Anyone know what happened? No more $4 bowls of golf ball-sized shrimp wontons. :(

Anyway, it just reminded me that I've had this recipe sitting in my queue for a while. Ha! I say that every time with almost every post. :P


Last fall, one of my cousins asked if I would make her wonton noodle soup. Sure, I said. Just come over whenever. And whenever she did, dropping in on a random evening, so this soup had to come together fairly quickly. This broth is a bit on the bland side, if you've got time, I'd recommend making a proper Canh (Vietnamese Soup Broth).

I set her to work washing the bok choy and soaking and cutting the shiitake mushrooms, while I quickly stuffed the wontons.

Mi Hoanh Thanh (Vietnamese Wonton Noodle Soup)

For about 4 servings, you'll need:
About 2 dozen shrimp, shelled and deveined, reserve the shells for broth
About 1 dozen wonton skins, plan on about two shrimp per wonton
1 package chow mein egg noodles
About 6 bok choy, washed and cut in half, or leaves separated
About a dozen shiitake mushrooms, soaked
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 tblsp Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce), or more to taste
1 1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste

Most chow mein noodles come wrapped in individual bundles. Figure on one bundle per person.


Peel and devein the shrimp. Fill a 5-quart stock pot halfway with water and toss in the shrimp shells. Add 2 tblsp fish sauce and 1 tsp salt and let the water come to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a food processor mince the shrimp with the chopped scallions and 1/2 tsp salt. I just quickly wrapped my wontons into irregular bundles because I had hungry cousins waiting, but you can certainly take the time to fold them pretty if you wish.


When the water boils, taste, and adjust if necessary. When the broth is to your liking, fish out the shrimp shells and toss in the wontons. Drain the shiitake mushrooms and add them as well, along with the noodles and bok choy. Hey, I did say this came together rather quickly and it all goes into your belly anyway.


If such one-pot cooking isn't to your liking, you can boil the noodles separately, drain them in a colander, and fill individual bowls with noodles. And then pour the broth, wontons, shiitake mushrooms, and bok choy into each bowl. The second method cuts down the the starchiness since the noodles aren't boiled together. But it'll still end up looking the same! :P

If you don't plan to finish all the noodles in one sitting, then you'll want to prepare individual bowls or else the noodles will absorb too much water and become mushy.

Enjoy!

My other mi (Vietnamese egg noodle dishes):
Mi Xao Don Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Crispy Chow Mein)
Mi Xao Don Thit Bo (Vietnamese Crispy Chow Mein with Beef)

*****
1 year ago today, Vietnamese-American-owned Cajun crawfish at The Boiling Crab - Alhambra (Valley Blvd.).