Serves 1
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

This is a comforting bowl of noodles in a mushroom and soy-based broth with noodles, veggies, and wonton! I love to use dried shiitake mushrooms for soup bases because they give that delicious earthy and umami flavor. This bowl is perfect for those cool and rainy days that you can easily cook this up with homemade or frozen wontons of choice. (Note: If you prefer to make homemade wonton, there’s also a recipe for that below!)

Soup Base

1 tbsp chili oil or sesame oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 small onion, diced
4 cups vegetable broth or water
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
3 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
Salt to taste

Noodle Soup

1 serving ramen noodles, wheat noodles, or other noodles of choice
Bok choy or other leafy veggies of choice
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms or other mushrooms of choice, sliced
7-8 pieces fresh or frozen vegan wontons, homemade tofu wontons recipe below

Sliced spring onions, for topping

Steps

  1. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add in the chili or sesame oil. Sauté the garlic and onion until aromatic. Add in the carrots and dried shiitake mushrooms. Add in vegetable broth or water along with the soy sauce and salt, to taste. Cover the pot and leave to boil over medium heat, around 8-10 minutes, or until the carrots are cooked through and mushrooms are rehydrated. Remove the mushrooms from the pot and slice them. Discard the tough stems, if needed. You can enjoy the mushrooms and mix them back into your noodle soup later on.

  2.  When the soup is boiling, add in the bokchoy or other leafy greens, fresh mushrooms, and wontons. Cook the veggies and wontons for a few minutes until cooked through. The wontons will float once cooked. Remove the veggies, mushrooms, and wontons from the pot to avoid overcooking, and then place them in a bowl while you cook the noodles.

  3. Place the noodles in the soup and cook until still very chewy to avoid overcooking, usually 2-3 minutes less than package instructions. Once the noodles are still very chewy, turn off the heat. Transfer the soup and noodles into a bowl with the veggies and wontons. Enjoy your bowl while still hot!

Note: If using fresh shiitake mushrooms, slice them into small pieces. Feel free to add in other mushrooms like enoki, shimeji, oyster mushrooms.

BONUS RECIPE: Homemade Tofu Wontons (makes 20 wontons)
You can easily make your own vegan wontons from scratch using the filling below or even using a plant-based ground meat alternative like Omnipork or Beyond Beef. These wontons store well in the freezer so you can easily make a big batch and use the rest for future dishes. Enjoy!

Wontons

20 3.5” square wonton wrappers, thawed at room temperature
Water, for wrapping

Filling

350g tokwa or extra firm tofu
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup (40g) chopped chives
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated or processed carrot, from 1 medium carrot
2 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
2 tbsp cornstarch

Preparing the Filling and Shaping Wontons

  1. Press tofu for at least 10 minutes to drain excess liquid. Place the tofu in a bowl then mash your hands or a fork.

  2. Heat a medium-sized pan or wok over medium-high. Add the oil. Once hot, sauté the garlic and chives for 2 minutes. Add in the carrots then sauté until tender. Add in the tofu, soy sauce, and salt, to taste. Mix well and leave to cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add in the cornstarch and mix until well incorporated. The cornstarch will help thicken and bind the mixture together. Turn off the heat and transfer the filling to a bowl and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

  3. Prepare a small bowl with water. Carefully separate the wrappers. It’s best to work with the wrappers at room temperature so they’re pliable and won’t easily break. Place 1 wrapper on a flat surface and add 1/2 tbsp of the filling, note that the amount of filling will depend on the size of your wrapper and type of fold you’re doing. Dip your finger into the bowl of water and dab the edges of the wrapper with water.

  4. Fold diagonally into half until you have a triangle. Seal tight and carefully press out the filling to remove any air. Dab one bottom corner of the triangles with water. Bring both ends together and press to seal together. Repeat for the rest of the wrappers and filling.

  5. You can also do the bundle method by adding a little less filling and simply scrunching the top ends of the wrapper together to create a small “bag”.

  6. After shaping and folding the wontons, set aside on a tray and cover with a towel to avoid them from drying out.

Storage and Freezing Tips

  • Place the wrapped uncooked wontons on a tray. Make sure there is enough space between each one so they don’t stick. Leave to freeze for a few hours until hardened before transferring to a container or bag.
  • To cook wontons, directly cook them from frozen—do not thaw.