Chapter 13: Goldfish Tail Wontons

As he spoke, he picked up the last ingredient: a two-finger-wide piece of Jinhua ham.

This piece of Jinhua ham was well-marbled with fat and lean meat and still had a delicate, fatty rind attached.

Although this wasn’t an authentic, top-grade Jinhua ham, its quality was still quite good.

Li Xiao held the piece of Jinhua ham up for the audience to see.

"This piece in my hand is another soul of this soup: Jinhua ham."

"Don’t be fooled by its small size. Adding it to the pot will make the entire soup’s flavor richer and more complex."

With that, Li Xiao’s knife moved swiftly, slicing the two-finger-wide piece of Jinhua ham into slivers as thin as a cicada’s wing.

He dropped the Jinhua ham into the soup pot. Seeing the liquid begin to bubble, Li Xiao immediately turned the heat to its lowest setting.

"Wonton noodle soup is made with a clear broth, so you must use low heat when simmering it."

"It’s best to keep it between 80-90 degrees, because if the heat is too high, the broth will turn out cloudy."

"Now that all the ingredients are in the pot, we just have to wait for an hour and a half."

"Next, we’ll make the final component of wonton noodle soup: the wontons."

"Making wontons requires two parts: the wrappers and the filling."

"The wrappers are very simple to make. There’s no fundamental difference between wonton wrappers and dumpling wrappers, except that one is round and the other is square."

As he talked, Li Xiao had already poured flour onto his cutting board.

"Wonton wrappers are supposed to be firm, so we can’t add too much water. Otherwise, they won’t have enough chewiness after cooking and will tear easily."

He added the fresh water to the flour in more than ten small increments.

He kneaded continuously until the dough became smooth.

Even after the dough was smooth, Li Xiao didn’t stop. He continued kneading to further develop the dough’s gluten.

He didn’t stop until his hands were sore, then wrapped the dough in plastic wrap.

"Alright, that’s enough kneading. Now, we’ll let this dough rest for about 20 minutes."

"These 20 minutes are just enough time for us to prepare the filling."

Setting the wrapped dough aside, Li Xiao took out the sea shrimp, which were still jumping around.

"For authentic wonton noodle soup, the wontons can’t be too big—you should be able to eat one in a single bite. And most importantly, they demand thin wrappers and a fantastic filling."

"The best traditional wontons from Guangdong Province are made with a fifty-fifty mix of shrimp and pork. You get the tender, crisp texture from the shrimp and the savory flavor from the pork."

As he spoke, he swiftly shelled and deveined the shrimp.

The pork had already been washed and minced.

He tossed the remaining dried flounder into hot oil and fried it until golden brown, then used a food processor to grind it into a powder.

After that, he toasted a small amount of dried shrimp skins and sesame seeds until fragrant.

Once all the ingredients were prepared, Li Xiao poured them all into a large bowl.

Finally, after adding egg, shrimp roe, and seasonings, Li Xiao began to mix the ingredients together evenly.

"The seasonings I’m adding now are also part of the wonton’s soul. Adding ground sesame, shrimp roe, and other things enhances the umami. The egg yolk locks in the meat’s flavor, making it taste even better."

As he stirred continuously, the filling grew stickier and thicker.

When the filling could easily be rolled into a thumb-sized ball without falling apart, the wonton filling was officially done.

Meanwhile, the dough had finished resting.

Li Xiao uncovered the plastic wrap from the dough and kneaded it out in just a few quick motions.

He then used a rolling pin to roll the dough into a thin sheet.

He evenly dusted the sheet of dough with flour, then used a pastry cutter to slice it into 9x9 square pieces.

Soon, the giant sheet of dough that had covered the entire table was cut into a large stack of wonton wrappers.

Li Xiao took one of the wrappers and shook off the excess flour.

He then used a small wooden spoon to scoop a bit of filling into the center of the wrapper.

"Wontons come in many shapes—chrysanthemum, little yuanbao, and goat horn. But of course, the most traditional is the loose-tail wonton. When you pick it up, you can see a large flap of the wrapper, like a goldfish’s tail, which is why it’s also called a ’goldfish-tail wonton’."

"Of course, you can basically never find these goldfish-tail wontons anymore."

"It’s not because they don’t taste good, but mainly because the ’tail’ is very large and takes up a lot of space in a container. Storing them requires a lot more freezer space."

"But we don’t need to store these for a long time; we’re making and cooking them right now. So, I’ve chosen to make the goldfish-tail wontons."

As he expertly wrapped the wontons, Li Xiao started chatting with the viewers in his livestream.

"Now, while we still have some time, let’s draw the names for the remaining 80 portions of wonton noodle soup."

"As before, this giveaway is only open to viewers who have joined the fan club and are in the Yangcheng area."

"I bought takeout containers that can keep things separate, but wontons are still a noodle-based dish and can’t be kept for long. So, to my viewers in other regions, I can only apologize."

While speaking, Li Xiao took a moment to finish setting up the giveaway.

A giveaway prize package appeared in the top-left corner of the screen.

"Everyone is welcome to participate in the giveaway. The winners will receive a portion of my homemade wonton noodle soup, as well as a portion of Yun Kee’s shrimp wontons."

"Of course, the 20 friends who already won in yesterday’s video should sit this one out. Give the other friends a chance."

In the livestream chat.

"Whoa, his wrapping speed is insane, isn’t it?"

"Such beautiful wontons! They look just like little swimming goldfish!"

"There’s a whole large shrimp in every single wonton? That’s so extravagant!"

"Guangdong Province is by the sea, so sea shrimp are pretty cheap there. Especially since most wonton noodle shops use frozen shrimp, which are even cheaper!"

"The streamer’s skills... I bet he’s been practicing by helping out at home since elementary school, right?"

"I never knew wontons could be so pretty. When I make them, I just give them a quick pinch and call it a day as long as they don’t fall apart!"

「10 minutes later.」

The remaining 80 lucky viewers had been chosen.

At the same time, Li Xiao had also finished making all the wontons.

Even though he had prepared for it, the trays filled with wontons still packed his small, 40-plus-square-meter apartment to the brim!

Li Xiao walked over to the soup pot, ladled a scoop of broth, and poured it into a bowl.

Gazing at the crystal-clear, shimmering golden broth in the bowl, he nodded with satisfaction.

The broth he made today was a cut above yesterday’s; its color was exceptionally clear.