Whether you are following a low carb/KETO diet or just avoiding the local Chinese restaurant, there is no denying we all still love and miss a bowl of wonton soup now and again. However, those tasty dumplings are still off limits according to dietary restrictions so how can we satisfy that craving yet maintain our macros? Today's recipe, Naked Wonton Soup, solves all the problems by removing the noodle part of the dumplings and focusing on those delicious meatballs and broth! Perfect as an appetizer or side dish, these flavorful pork and shrimp meatballs in that familiar chicken soup base are sure to complement any meal without being too heavy on the palate. Before you start to drool....Let's Get Cooking!
One of the key aspects of this Naked Wonton Soup is the broth itself. Begin by boiling some chicken stock with a knob or so of fresh ginger for about 15 minutes. During this time, the ginger flavor will begin to leach into the broth creating a wonderful aroma and overall flavor profile. You can certainly keep things very simple and leave it at this point, or up the umami game and add some fresh garlic cloves, dehydrated shitake mushrooms, or any other ingredients/herbs you typically use to flavor stocks and broths when making them from scratch at home. Some of those flavors might already be infused in your chicken broth if you use homemade versus store-bought so keep that in mind when developing your soup base for this Naked Wonton Soup. We will be removing these extra flavor enhancers later on so anything that can't be easily removed or strained should be put into a bouquet garni/cheesecloth sachet. I will say, however, that even the very simple ginger and store-bought chicken stock are quite delicious in their own right.
While your broth continues to boil and develop those flavors, we can move onto the meatballs themself. Combine the ground pork with peeled and deveined shrimp in a food processor. Add the garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil, and 1 of the green onions and pulse until everything is well processed and combined. It will almost turn into a paste-like consistency. You can also chef it up a bit instead and use those fancy knife skills to complete this step, which will result in a meatier texture as compared with the paste-like food processor. It really just comes down to personal preference and skill, but I think the processed texture turns out just fine after cooking so pick your poison and comment below with any thoughts on the matter.
Now would be a good time to reach over and preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. While that comes up to temp, form the pork and shrimp mixture into 1-inch diameter/golf ball-sized portions and arrange them in a baking tray. Ultimately, you want somewhere between 16-20 meatballs if following the recipe card below and using 12 ounces each of pork and shrimp. They will slightly shrink during the baking process, but making them too big results in a longer cook time and a bit more difficult to consume so aim for something in that golf ball size range. Smaller bouncy ball-sized meatballs are probably ideal for eating, but then again it will take twice as long to form and you will have to adjust the cooking time a bit shorter so once again, do as you do and feel free to comment below.
Bake the meatballs about 25 minutes, give or take 5 minutes on either side of that time depending on size of course. Be sure to rotate and flip the meatballs a few times during baking so all sides get browned and cook evenly. We do want them to cook all the way through, so be sure the internal temperature reaches at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Turing our attention back to the broth now, carefully remove the ginger and/or any other additives you used to flavor your chicken broth. You can use a slotted spoon or just strain the entire thing through a fine mesh colander if necessary. Hopefully you took my advice and created a cheesecloth sachet for any fine herbs. Once your broth has been strained, transfer the fully cooked meatballs into the same pot and simmer for 10 minutes. This gives the meatballs some time to soak up a bit of broth and soften as well as impart their flavor into the broth itself. As for the remaining green onion, you can either finely slice and add it now or save to use as a garnish for serving. Hell, double down and use it for both as I'm not the green onion police!
Simple and quick as it was, that actually wraps up this Naked Wonton Soup! Each portion should have 3 to 4 meatballs and about 3/4 cup of the broth. This soup is actually quite light, so it can be served as an appetizer or side dish to the main course. What else can I say? It's not only delicious and satisfying, but it's also low carb and high protein making it a perfect KETO soup anyone can enjoy! The fat from the ground pork also helps the overall macros so whether you are on some diet or not, give this Naked Wonton Soup a try and let me know what you think. The recipe itself is just a starting point with plenty of opportunities to alter and adapt certain steps to enhance or change up the overall flavor profile. You could even pan fry the meatballs rather than baking them to give them a crispier outer texture completely changing the final product. No matter how you decide to do it, get in the kitchen and make your own delicious Naked Wonton Soup....Just Keep Cooking!
NAKED WONTON SOUP
תגובות