It's Spring! The air smells warm and Target is overflowing with pastels and Easter candy. Target has the official say on the changing of seasons, right?? Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you ask, the average temperature in San Francisco is a crisp 65 degrees. ALL YEAR. I miss real seasons and the feeling of an actual summer. I miss weather appropriate popsicles. It would also be awesome if I didn't have to to wear a layer for every climatic change through out the day. But I'm a blanket and bed person, so the chilly weather helps me maximize my cozy needs. Living in San Francisco means it's soup weather all the time. Reub and I are probably getting Pho tomorrow for Friday night dinner date.

This soup is one of my favorites and it is made by one of my most favorite people. Cho Momma! That's my mom if you didn't get that pun. Pretty much every instinct I have the in the kitchen (and out of the kitchen) is because of her. I learned from her that oyster sauce and green onions make almost everything taste better. That's a fact. She taught me how to use that giant clever! My mom would always recruit my brother and I to fold the wontons growing up. More hands folding means dinner is going to get in your mouth sooner. This soup is so good and good for you when you need a little comfort in your life. The broth is light and gingery (the addition of ginger was my idea) and the wontons are super juicy. I recently tried pan frying some of the extra wontons and they made for really awesome potstickers. 

Meals like this always make me feel incredibly homesick. I miss being home (Cleveland) and chatting with my mom and brother at the dinning room table. I miss being a part of the day to day life at home. I sometimes feel like I'm watching my family from afar and that makes me upset. But I try to remind myself that I'm not going to be so far away forever. If I had it my way I would be moving back to Ohio yesterday... but Reuben wants a little bit more time in San Francisco before we move somewhere else.

We are going to Ohio for a week in May though! I can't wait! My Brother is graduating from the Ohio State University! I'm so excited! I love Ohio, can you tell? We are going to stop in the 3 Big C's of Ohio. Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati! Reuben and I both went to architecture school in Cincinnati, but we didn't know each other there, so it's going to be super interesting exploring this city we both know so well for the first time together. He has also never been to Cleveland with me, so I'm ready to show him all my favorite places! I'm dreaming of Apple Cart soft serve ice cream. Oh, and we need to get Jeni's ice cream in Columbus. Oh! We need to get Greater's ice cream in Cincinnati. Oh!!!! We need to get Mitchell's ice cream in Cleveland too! We are actually going on an ice cream tour. Hopefully, in between ice cream tastings, we have a few nights to lounge at home with my parents, cooking dinner, and chat at the dining room table. With any luck, Reuben will be so captivated by all the splendor of Ohio that we will be moving back ; )

Cho Momma's Wonton Soup

serves 6

Steps :

1. Start the wonton filling by chopping up the the white and greens of the green onion stalks. Reserve a few greens for garnish later. Set aside green onions.

2. With your sharpest knife, cut up the shrimp into small pieces. You want to cut it finely and smack the shrimp with the flat side of your knife to help make it into a paste texture. Don't smack too hard! You don't want your shrimp to fly.

3. Combine the shrimp and pork in a medium bowl. Add in the green onions, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and 1 Tbsp of cornstarch. Mix until evenly combined. Cover with cling wrap and set in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

4. Whisk together 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1/4 C of water in a small bowl. Begin wrapping your wontons by adding about 1 Tbsp of filling to a wrapper. Try to not add too much filling so that your dumplings don't burst. With the tip of your index finger, dip into the cornstarch mixture and then run your finger along two adjacent sides of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, pressing down on the edges. With the longest edge facing up, add a bit of the cornstarch mixture to one of the two ends and then bring the two ends together by overlapping. Give the two ends a pinch and then you're done with one dumpling! Wrap your remaining dumplings.

5. Start your soup by simmering broth with ginger. Add sesame oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for a least 30 mins.

6. Bring a big pot of water to boil. Do not salt your water. Boil your wontons in batches of 10-15. Boil for 4-6 minutes or until the wontons start to float.

7. Place cooked wontons in individual serving bowls and pour your soup into the bowl. Garnish with green onions and enjoy 

Wonton Materials :

1 lb shrimp (peeled and cleaned)

3/4 lb ground pork

1 package of wonton wrappers (about 60 wrappers)

4 green onion stalks 

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper 

1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp cornstarch for wrappers

1/4 C water

Soup Materials :

8 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (water and bouillon works too!)

2 inches of peeled and sliced ginger

1 Tbsp Sesame Oil

Salt + Pepper