I’ve always loved wontons and Chinese dumplings, but I thought they were really difficult to make. Then I made them for this soup, and I discovered something about myself. I LOVE making wontons! They tasted just like authentic Chinese wontons, except I used a small amount of minced habanero pepper (I know, shocker!), so they had a little kick. The broth was silky and flavored with a wonderful shitake mushroom umami, perfectly balancing the heat.
The trick to getting the wontons to cook without falling apart is to have the broth just beyond a simmer, but not quite a boil so the wontons ‘dance’ in the broth as they cook.