When we visited my Toby’s parents in Montreal in the fall, I asked my mother-in-law to show me how to make her pork and shrimp wontons. They are so delicious, but quite a project to individually wrap each one, so multiple hands for assembly are appreciated.

The photos below are from our trip, but when I made these at home, I adjusted the pork/shrimp ratio because I only had a 1/2 pound of ground pork on hand so I increased the amount of shrimp. Also, I’m not a fan of mushrooms and we couldn’t find a small quantity of dried mushrooms locally, so I omitted them from her original recipe. But, if you have a few dried mushrooms on hand, soak them for about an hour, give them a chop and toss them in.

The raw pork and shrimp mixture can be frozen and you can also freeze the uncooked wontons.

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Pork and Shrimp Wontons

Serves 4 (makes about 50 wontons)

• 1 pound shrimp (61-70 count) (if larger, cut each shrimp in to thirds or quarters)
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 eggs (one egg split, yolk and white)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 package wontons wrappers
• 4 cups Roasted Chicken Stock or store-bought chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Place the shrimp in a bowl and add white pepper and mix. Place the pork in a separate bowl and add salt, sugar, soy sauce, one egg and one yolk (reserve egg white to seal wontons) and mix thoroughly. Add the shrimp mixture and cornstarch and mix until well combined. If the mixture looks dry, add one tablespoon of stock and mix well.

Beat the reserved egg white in a small bowl.

Take one wonton and add about 1 heaping teaspoon of the ground pork mixture, plus one shrimp (or two pieces if they are quarters) to the middle of the wanton. Don’t add too much or the wontons won’t seal well. Using a table knife, dip the side of the knife in to the egg white and moisten the four corners of the wonton.

Fold in one corner to the center, covering the pork and shrimp mix. Fold the opposite corner on top of the first corner.

Bring together the two remaining corners together and seal them with your thumb and forefinger, adding a bit more egg white as needed to make sure the sides are fully sealed..

Repeat the process for the remaining wontons, keeping your completed wontons covered with a damp paper towel.

Heat the chicken stock in a pot with 1 teaspoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Working in batches, add about 15-20 wontons at a time to the pot.

Bring the stock back to second boil and immediately add 1 cup of cold water. This prevents the wonton wrappers from breaking apart. Bring back to a third boil and when the wontons shrivel up around the filling and float, remove them to a separate bowl. This should take about 4-5 minutes.

Add a little hot broth to keep them hot while you finish your remaining batch. When you are finished with the remaining wontons, divide them among four serving bowls and add the heated broth. Serve immediately. If you wish, add a splash of soy sauce or oyster sauce.