Wonton noodles (, also called wanton mee or wanton mein) is a
noodle
Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, Indo ...
dish of
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
origin.
Wonton noodles were given their name, ''húntún'' (), in the
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
(618-907 CE). The dish is popular in
Southern China
South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
.
The dish usually consists of egg noodles served in a hot
broth
Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...
, garnished with
leafy vegetable
Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...
s and ''
wonton
A wonton () is a type of Chinese dumpling commonly found across regional styles of Chinese cuisine. It is also spelled wantan or wuntun in transliteration from Cantonese () and wenden from Shanghainese (). There are many different styles of ...
'' dumplings. The types of leafy vegetables used are usually ''
gai-lan'', also known as
Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale. Another type of dumpling known as ''
shui jiao'' (水餃) is sometimes served in place of wonton. Shrimp wonton are mostly known as Hong Kong dumplings.
The wontons contain
prawns
Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten.
The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature ...
,
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
or
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
, and
spring onion
Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...
s, with some
chef
A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...
s adding
mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
and
black fungus. In
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
especially in
North Sumatra
North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...
,
West Kalimantan
West Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city is Pontianak, Indonesia, Pontianak. The province has ...
and
South Sulawesi
South Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Selatan) is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sula ...
, wonton noodles are called ''mie pangsit''.
Guangzhou and Hong Kong
![Wanton noodles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Wanton_noodles.jpg)
In Guangzhou and Hong Kong, wonton noodles are usually served in steaming hot soup with shrimp wontons and garnished with leafy vegetables. There are plenty of variations of this popular Cantonese dish, with different toppings and garnishes. For example, the soup and wontons being in separate bowls, the noodles being served relatively dry, served with toppings and garnishes, dressed with sauce, or dipping the noodles in the soup to eat it.
Guangzhou and Hong Kong-style wonton noodles have a few predominant characteristics: The wontons are predominantly
prawn
Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten.
The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature ...
—with small amounts of minced pork, or no pork at all—traditional consisting of 70% shrimp and 30% pork. It is served with smooth
thin noodles
Youmian () are a variety of Chinese noodle widely used in Southern China, especially in the cuisines of Hong Kong and Guangdong. It has also been selectively used in the dishes of Shanghai, Malaysia, and Singapore. Youmian is also used in some d ...
cooked ''
al dente
In cooking, al dente () describes pasta or rice that is cooked to be firm to the bite. The etymology is Italian "to the tooth".
In contemporary Italian cooking, the term identifies the ideal consistency for pasta and involves a brief cooking t ...
'', in a hot, light brown soup (prepared from dried
flounder
Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries.
Taxonomy
The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...
).
Garlic chives
''Allium tuberosum'' (garlic chives, Oriental garlic, Asian chives, Chinese chives, Chinese leek) is a species of plant native to the Chinese province of Shanxi, and cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in Asia and around the world.
Description ...
are often added as a garnish.
In order to ensure that the noodles are perfectly ''al dente'', the noodles are
blanched for only 10 seconds, after which they are rinsed under cold water and placed in the serving bowl atop the wontons. Hot
bouillon
Bouillon can refer to:
Food
* Bouillon (broth), a simple broth
** Court-bouillon, a quick broth
* Bouillon (soup), a Haitian soup
* Bouillon (restaurant), a traditional type of French restaurant
**Bouillon Chartier, a bouillon restaurant foun ...
soup is then scooped into the bowl, on top of the wonton noodles. This style's soup is said to be characterised by its flavourful, savoury taste, yet not so strong as to overpower the taste of the wonton and the noodles which it accompanies.
When served, the spoon is customarily placed at the bottom, with the wontons above the spoon and the noodles on top; this is done due to the belief that letting the noodles soak in the soup for too long will leave it over-cooked.
Although the "wonton noodle" is synonymous with wonton and noodles served in hot soup, the dish may also be served "dry", as in
lo mein
Lo mein () is a Chinese dish with egg noodles. It often contains vegetables and some type of meat or seafood, usually beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp. It might also be served with wontons (called ''húntun'' 餛飩/馄饨 in Mandarin) although w ...
(), where the
wonton
A wonton () is a type of Chinese dumpling commonly found across regional styles of Chinese cuisine. It is also spelled wantan or wuntun in transliteration from Cantonese () and wenden from Shanghainese (). There are many different styles of ...
are placed on a large bed of
noodle
Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, Indo ...
s.
Malaysia
![WantonMee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/WantonMee.JPG)
Malaysia offers different versions of the dish, with different states having different versions of the dish and there are versions from
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
,
Pahang
Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...
,
Perak
Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...
,
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
,
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
, and
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
. The Malaysian version differs from the original in having slices of
char siu
''Char siu'' () is a Chinese, specifically Cantonese–style of barbecued pork. Originating in Guangdong, it is eaten with rice, used as an ingredient for noodle dishes or in stir fries, and as a filling for '' chasiu baau'' or '' pineapple b ...
added to the dish, as well as the possibility of the soup and wontons being in separate bowls, the noodles being served relatively dry, dressed with
oyster sauce
Oyster sauce describes a number of sauces made by cooking oysters. The most common in modern use is a viscous dark brown condiment made from oyster extracts,The Times, 22 January 1981; ''Cook Accidentally on purpose'' sugar, salt and water thick ...
and garnished with chopped spring onions. Some stalls include deep-fried wontons in the dry versions as well.
Often served wet, the Hong Kong version can be found at Cantonese noodle joints with it being dry or soup. In
Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
, ''wontons'' are placed together with the noodles and ''wonton'' soup can be ordered separately. The Malacca version is also usually spicier than the other Malaysian versions due to the use of a special unsweetened chili sauce.
Vegetarian ''wonton mee'' is also served in Malaysia in vegetarian restaurants. Instead of using pork to make
char siu
''Char siu'' () is a Chinese, specifically Cantonese–style of barbecued pork. Originating in Guangdong, it is eaten with rice, used as an ingredient for noodle dishes or in stir fries, and as a filling for '' chasiu baau'' or '' pineapple b ...
, wheat gluten is used.
Philippines
There are three distinct types of wonton noodle dishes found in
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. One is ''
mami
Mami may refer to:
People
*Cheb Mami, Algerian raï singer
*Mami (given name), a Japanese feminine given name
*Mami (goddess), a goddess in the Babylonian epic ''Atra-Hasis''
*Mami Wata, a pantheon of ancient water spirits or deities Entertainment ...
'', which is a noodle soup that has egg noodles, wontons, and various vegetables in a hot broth. The name ''mami'' is derived from a Chinese phrase that means “pork noodles". Another type is ''
pancit molo
Pancit Molo or Filipino pork dumpling soup is a type of soup using wonton wrappers which originated from Molo district in Iloilo City. It consists of a mixture of ground pork wrapped in molo or wonton wrapper, shredded chicken meat, and also s ...
'', which is similar to ''mami'', but the noodles used are the wonton wrappers themselves. The third type of wonton noodles is stir-fry egg noodles sold by hawkers and in small "stand-up" type stalls. Here, the noodles are stir-fried with
mung bean
The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...
sprouts and vegetables, flavored with a range of sauces, and finally topped with wontons.
Singapore
Singapore wonton noodles includes noodles, leafy vegetables (preferably ''cai-xin''), barbecued pork (''
char siu
''Char siu'' () is a Chinese, specifically Cantonese–style of barbecued pork. Originating in Guangdong, it is eaten with rice, used as an ingredient for noodle dishes or in stir fries, and as a filling for '' chasiu baau'' or '' pineapple b ...
'') and bite-sized dumplings or ''wonton''. It is either served dry or in soup form with the former being more popular.
If served dry, the wontons will be served in a separate bowl of soup. ''Shui jiao'' or prawn dumplings are served at some stalls and the original Hong Kong version is available at
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
restaurants and noodle joints.
Fried wontons (wontons deep-fried in oil) are sometimes served instead of those boiled in the soup. The Singaporean and Malaysian versions of the wonton noodle are similar to each other, though the Singapore version uses significantly less soy sauce and is often served with chilli ketchup.
Thailand
![Bami mu daeng kiao](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Bami_mu_daeng_kiao.JPG)
''Wonton noodles'' ( th, บะหมี่เกี๊ยว; ''bami kiao'') are also very popular in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, where, as in Malaysia and Singapore, the dish is often ordered together with barbecued pork which is then called ''bami mu daeng kiao'' ( th, บะหมี่หมูแดงเกี๊ยว; ''mu daeng'' meaning "red pork"). As is customary with many noodle soups of Chinese origin in Thailand, chillies preserved in vinegar, dried chilli flakes, sugar, and fish sauce are added to taste. The dish is mostly eaten in soup form but it can also be served dry with the broth on the side.
Vietnam
''Súp mì'' or ''mì'' for short is a Chinese-Vietnamese noodle soup, introduced to Vietnam by Chinese immigrants. ''Mì hoành thánh'' is the Vietnamese version of wonton noodle soup. Noodles can be served with the soup or soup separately. Common ingredients are yellow wheat (egg) noodles with pork-based broth, ground pork, chives, and various meats and toppings.
See also
*
List of Chinese dishes
This is a list of Chinese dishes in Chinese cuisine.
Dishes by ingredient
Grain-based dishes
Noodles
Rice
Pork-based dishes
Poultry-based dishes
Vegetable-based dishes
Dishes by cooking method
Dumplings
Pastry
Soups, stews an ...
*
List of Chinese soups
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of noodle dishes
This is a list of notable noodle dishes. Noodles are a type of staple food made from some type of unleavened dough which is rolled flat and cut into one of a variety of shapes. While long, thin strips may be the most common, many varieties of no ...
*
List of soups
This is a list of notable soups. Soups have been made since Ancient history, ancient times.
Some soups are served with large chunks of meat or vegetables left in the liquid, while others are served as a broth. A broth is a flavored liquid usua ...
*
References
{{Soups
Cantonese cuisine
Chinese noodle dishes
Hong Kong noodle dishes
Malaysian noodle dishes
Noodle soups
Singaporean noodle dishes