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A deconstructed wonton soup is everything you love about wonton soup minus all the time it takes to fold the actual wontons!
What is a Deconstructed Wonton Soup?
A deconstructed wonton soup has all the components of a traditional wonton soup minus all the time it takes to fold the actual wontons.
I saw @eat_figs_not_pigs‘s video for it and knew I had to try making my own version!
The recipe I am sharing here is for a deconstructed chicken and cilantro wonton soup.
It’s made with a light yet savory broth, chicken wonton filling meatballs, bok choy, and silky wonton wrapper strands.
While I do enjoy making wontons and dumplings from scratch, it’s not something I do often because it can be a little tedious and require a bit of time.
But this deconstructed wonton soup is the perfect lazy girl meal for when you’re craving wonton soup but don’t want to spend so much time folding wontons!
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Deconstructed Wonton Soup Ingredients
Before you begin making this deconstructed wonton soup, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Wonton Filling
- Ground Meat: For the wonton filling, use ground chicken or ground pork.
- Veggies:Napa cabbage, cilantro, and green onions adds freshness to the filling.
- Aromatics: Fresh garlic and ginger will make the filling fragrant.
- Substitute: Use garlic powder or ginger powder for milder flavor.
- Seasonings: The filling is seasoned withchicken bouillon,white pepper, andsalt.
- Substitute: Mushroom seasoning or msg can be a substitute for chicken bouillon.
- Soy Sauce: Soy sauce adds additional saltiness and a savory umami flavor.
- Substitute: Use tamari, liquid aminos, or coconut aminos as alternatives.
- Sesame Oil: Sesame oil adds a toasty nutty flavor.
- Substitute: If you are allergic or don’t have it, just omit from the recipe.
Soup
- Wonton Wrappers: Instead of wrapping wontons, the wonton wrappers will be added to the soup kind of like noodles.
- Broth: The soup base is equal amounts of chicken broth and water for a savory yet light soup.
- Substitute: You can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Ginger: Ginger adds so much warmth and flavor to the broth as it simmers. Remove before serving.
- Seasonings: The broth is simply seasoned with chicken bouillon and salt so that the filling shines.
- Substitute: Mushroom seasoning or msg can be a substitute for chicken bouillon.
- Bok Choy: One of the best vegetables for wonton soup. It’s crisp, leafy, peppery, and fresh.
- Substitute: Napa cabbage and spinach are great options if you want to add other veggies.
- Garnish: Thinly sliced onions, green onions, cilantro, and sesame oil are delicate and added to the soup at the end of cooking to preserve freshness and flavor.
RELATED: CHICKEN POTSTICKERS (PAN FRIED DUMPLINGS)
How to Make a Deconstructed Wonton Soup
Once you have all the ingredients, this deconstructed wonton soup is super quick and easy to make.
This recipe only takes 30 minutes and makes about 4 servings.
It’s a hearty soup full of flavorful wonton filling meatballs and fresh veggies.
It’s filling enough to be eaten on it’s own but great as a side soup as well!
Let’s walk through this deconstructed wonton soup recipe step-by-step.
As always, there is a recipe card at the end that you to print out, pin to Pinterest, or save for later!
RELATED: DUMPLING SAUCE RECIPE YOU NEED TO TRY
Step 1: Make the Wonton Filling
Begin by making the chicken and cilantro wonton filling.
The filling is inspired by one of my favorite frozen wontons, the bibigo Chicken and Cilantro Wontons from Costco.
These are essentially going to be meatballs in the soup since we are not wrapping them.
To a bowl combine ground chicken, cilantro, napa cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, chicken bouillon, white pepper, salt, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
Mix well to combine. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty!
Set the wonton filling aside.
Step 2: Make the Broth
Next make the broth for the deconstructed wonton soup.
In a pot on medium heat, combine chicken broth, water, chicken bouillon, salt, and ginger.
I am using a Caraway 3 quart sauce pan.
Bring the broth to a boil.
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Step 3: Cook Wonton Filling Meatballs
Instead of wrapping wontons, the chicken and cilantro filling will be added into the broth like little meatballs.
Once the broth is boiling, drop small spoonfuls of the chicken wonton filling into the broth.
It does not need need to be in a perfect shape.
However, try to keep the meatballs similar in size so they cook evenly.
Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
The wonton filling meatballs are done cooking when they float to the top.
Cook them longer as needed until they float.
Step 4: Cook Bok Choy & Wonton Wrappers
Once the meatballs are floating add in bok choy.
Push down or mix as needed so the bok choy is submerged in the broth.
Next, cut wonton wrappers in to smaller pieces.
You can cut them diagonally in half, quarters, or slices.
Then add the wonton wrappers into the soup in batches.
Only add a few wonton wrappers at a time so they don’t stick together.
You do not want to add them all at once or overlap because they cook super quickly and will clump together.
Let it simmer for 5 more minutes or until the bok choy has softened to your liking.
Once cooked the wonton wrappers have a delicate silky texture.
It somewhat resembles noodles.
Of course feel free to add more into the soup if you would like.
Step 5: Garnish & Enjoy!
Make sure to taste test and adjust it to your liking.
Here are a few suggestions if you think the soup needs tweaking:
- Too light → add more chicken bouillon, salt, or white pepper
- Too salty → add more water
- Too thick → add more chicken broth or water
Lastly turn off the heat before adding thinly sliced onions, green onions, cilantro, white pepper, and sesame oil.
These are all delicate ingredients and lose flavor when it is cooked.
Therefore it is best to add it at the very end with the residual heat only.
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Leftover Storage & Reheating
This deconstructed wonton soup makes about 4 servings and is great as leftovers.
My husband said it tasted even better the next day!
Place any leftover into a sealed container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you’re ready to eat, gently reheat the soup on the stovetop over low heat.
If you’re in a hurry, you can also use the microwave.
Heat slightly covered to avoid evaporation while also allowing it to vent.
A few minutes should be sufficient but time will vary depending on the method and equipment.
What to Eat with Deconstructed Wonton Soup
This deconstructed wonton soup is hearty and filling enough to be eaten on its own.
I love to eat it with a big bowl of rice to soak up all the delicious broth.
You can also eat it with your favorite noodles.
If you like it spicy, then add chili oil or sriracha.
Not only is it great by itself, but you can also serve it as a side soup or as part of a larger spread for a family-style meal.
Here are some recipes that are perfect to make alongside this deconstructed wonton soup.
Crab Rangoon
Fried Rice
Tanghulu
Save This Deconstructed Wonton Soup Recipe!
I hope this step-by-step tutorial for this deconstructed wonton soup was helpful and that you try to recreate this twist on a Chinese classic at home!
Be sure to save this so you can make it whenever the craving hits and share this recipe with your family and friends!
Please leave a rating and comment below if you try it. I’d love to know what you think!
Did you make this recipe? I would love to see! Tag me on IG @feedmi_or TikTok@feedmi
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Deconstructed Wonton Soup (Chicken & Cilantro)
A deconstructed wonton soup is everything you love about wonton soup minus all the time it takes to fold the actual wontons!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Total Time 30 minutes minutes
Servings 4
Ingredients
Wonton Filling
- ½ lb ground chicken or ground pork
- handful cilantro chopped
- ½ cup napa cabbage chopped
- 1 green onion sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Soup
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 inch ginger smashed
- 1 bok choy quartered
- 12 wonton wrappers
- ¼ onion thinly sliced
- 2 green onions sliced
- handful cilantro chopped
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
In a bowl, make the wonton filling by mixing together ground chicken, cilantro, napa cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, chicken bouillon, salt, white pepper, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Cook a small piece of the filling, taste test, and adjust to your liking as needed before adding into the soup. Set it aside.
In a pot on medium heat, combine chicken broth, water, chicken bouillon, salt, and ginger. Bring it to a boil.
Add small spoonfuls of the wonton filling into the boiling broth like little meatballs. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes. The meatballs are done cooking when they float to the top.
Add bok choy. Then cut wonton wrappers diagonally in half, quarters, or slices. Add the wonton wrappers into the soup in batches. Only add a few at a time so they don't stick and clump together. Let it simmer for 5 more minutes or until the bok choy is tender to your liking.
Turn off the heat then add onions, green onions, cilantro, white pepper, and sesame oil. Serve this deconstructed wonton soup on its own, with rice or noodles, chili oil if you like it spicy, and enjoy!
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