One thousand years of Chinese occupation, which officially ended in 938 AD, had a lasting effect on Vietnam. There is virtually no town in Vietnam without a Hai Ba Trung or a Le Thai To street, honouring the Vietnamese warriors who successfully fought against the invaders from the north. At the same time, the Vietnamese have happily incorporated Chinese culinary culture into their own, from chopsticks and rice cultivation to the wok and … wontons.
Broth
2 kg chicken bones (about 5 carcasses)
1 pig’s trotter, cut into 4 pieces (ask your butcher to saw it)
½ teaspoon salt
2 dried squid
8 spring onions
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon sugar
1½ tablespoons fish sauce
Wontons
5 dried Chinese mushrooms
12 raw prawns
150 g pork mince
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
pinch of sugar
¼ teaspoon salt pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
18 wonton wrappers
500 g egg noodles
½ teaspoon sesame oil
5 bunches bok choy, leaves separated
4 spring onions, sliced
fish sauce to serve (optional)
To prepare the broth, wash the chicken bones under cold water and place in a large saucepan with the pig’s trotter. Cover with cold water and add the salt. Slowly bring to simmering point, removing any scum that rises to the surface. Chargrill the squid over a gas burner or barbecue. Add to the broth, along with the spring onions, peppercorns, sugar and fish sauce. Simmer for 2 hours, regularly skimming the surface. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
To prepare the wontons, soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain, then squeeze out any excess water, remove the stems and chop the caps. Peel, devein and roughly chop the prawns. Place the prawns in a bowl with the mushrooms, pork, sesame oil, sugar, salt, pepper and egg, and mix to combine. Put a wonton wrapper on a board and spoon a teaspoon of the filling onto the centre of the wrapper. Dampen the edges of the wrapper, then draw it over the filling and pinch the wrapper around the filling, expelling any air to prevent the dumpling from bursting when cooked. Repeat to make the remaining wontons.
Return the broth to the cleaned saucepan and return to simmering point.
Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Drop in the wontons and simmer for 3–4 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
Add the egg noodles to the boiling water and simmer for 1–2 minutes, or until tender. Drain well. Toss the sesame oil through the noodles. Divide the noodles among six bowls and put three wontons in each bowl.
Blanch the bok choy in the broth for 1 minute. Remove and place on the noodles, along with the spring onions. Ladle the hot broth into the bowls and serve with the fish sauce, if desired.
