The name, San Xian Wontons (三鲜馄饨) is hard to translate. Roughly, I guess one could translate it to, “Triple Delight Wontons,” because the filling contains three proteins—shrimp, pork, and chicken. Just don’t let the name fool you into thinking this is an Americanized takeout recipe. Far from it!
San Xian Wontons have superior status in the wonton world, and restaurants always knowingly charge more for them. You won’t find them on most menus, so it’s all the more worth it to learn how to make them at home! For this San Xian Wontons recipe, I chose shrimp, pork and chicken, but if pork is not part of your diet, replace it with finely minced fish fillets. (Fish in wonton filling? You bet!)
Important Tips for Superior Wonton Soup
There are many ways to make a tasty wonton soup, but let me share what I have learned. It’s a bit of a long list, but bear with me:
- Hand-chopped meats taste so much better than machine-ground, i.e. pre-ground meat that you will find in the grocery store, which can have a mushy texture.
- Don’t mince the shrimp, just coarsely chop them to maintain the shrimp’s firm texture.
- Aromatics like ginger must be minced very finely. Larger pieces of ginger will ruin the wontons’ delicate flavor.
- Always stir the meat filling in one direction, and stir until the filling comes together and turns sticky–like paste.
- It’s very important to add cold stock or water to the filling to keep the filling moist and juicy. In this recipe, I added ½ cup of water to the filling.
- ALWAYS taste-test the filling by cooking the first two wontons (or dumplings if that’s you are making) before making the whole batch. Then you can adjust your seasonings to taste.
- The size of the wrapper determines the amount of filling to use; otherwise, it’s difficult to seal them. Start with less filling and adjust as you are folding the wontons if needed.
- If you’d like to store them in the freezer, place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and slightly separated so that they aren’t touching. Freeze them on the pan overnight. Transfer them to a zip-loc bag once they are frozen solid, but don’t leave the wontons uncovered in the freezer for more than 12 hours, because the wrappers will crack if they are left uncovered.
- Never defrost frozen wontons (or dumplings for that matter) in preparation for cooking. They should go into hot water or a frying pan frozen.
- Wontons are best boiled in water and then served in heated clear soup stock. In my opinion, cooking methods like steaming, pan-frying, and frying all dry out the filling too much, because the wonton skin is a lot thinner and more delicate than dumpling skin.
- When cooking wontons (this applies to dumplings and noodles, too), bring the water to a boil. Then add the wontons while slowly stir the water, this will prevent wontons from sticking to the bottom. Once the water comes to a boil again, add ½ cup of cold water to stop the boiling process. This method will slow down the cooking process so the wontons don’t turn starchy and mushy.
- Wontons are almost done cooking once they flow to the surface. Cook for another minute and serve.
This San Xian Wontons recipe makes about 7 dozen.
Are you ready for a treat? Let’s start!
San Xian Wontons: Recipe Instructions
To make the San Xian Wonton filling, combine the shrimp, pork, chicken, minced ginger, chopped scallion, vegetable oil, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, and water.
Using a rubber spatula, mix and fold the mixture in one direction for about 5 to 10 minutes until it becomes sticky, like a paste.
Prepare a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Get a small bowl of cold water. Lastly, bring a small pot of water to a boil, so you can taste-test the filling.
To assemble the wontons, take your square wonton wrapper, and dab one side of the square with your finger.
Add about a teaspoon of filling in the center.
Gently fold the wrapper in half and seal on all sides.
Using your finger, brush another dab of water on one corner (of the filling side), and gently bring in and overlap the two corners of the wonton by pressing them together.
(Check out our step-by-step guide to folding wontons for more details!)
Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan. Make one more, cook, and taste test the two samples.
Make adjustments accordingly to taste before proceeding to make the whole batch.
To cook the san xian wontons, boil water in a pot, and add the wontons (fresh or frozen, but never defrosted wontons).
To prevent the wontons from sticking to the bottom of the pot, stir the boiling water gently so the water is moving when you add in the wontons. Cook uncovered for about 3-5 minutes using medium heat. This is also a good time to blanch some Chinese leafy greens to complete the meal.
If necessary, add ½ cup cold water if the water is boiling too vigorously. This helps manage the starch levels in the water. The san xian wontons are done once they float to the surface and turn plump.
Since it’s best to serve wontons with stock or broth, it’s a good idea to heat up the stock or broth at the same time as you’re cooking the wontons. I like to use chicken broth or a mixture of chicken and pork broth, which you have to prepare ahead of time. More times than not, I just use the water that I cooked the wontons in. This is my trick for when I am in a pinch–you can give it a try too. I first add light soy sauce, sesame oil, ground white pepper, and chopped scallions to the soup bowl. Then I ladle in the cooked wontons and some of the cooking water, stir, and salt to taste.
Enjoy your San Xian Wontons!
San Xian Wontons (Shrimp, Pork & Chicken Wontons)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces shrimp (peeled and deveined, coarsely chopped)
- 8 ounces ground pork (preferably hand-chopped)
- 8 ounces ground chicken (preferably hand-chopped)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (finely minced)
- ¼ cup scallion (finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ cup water
- 2 packages wonton wrappers
- A large handful of leafy greens
Instructions
- To make the filling, combine the shrimp, pork, chicken, minced ginger, chopped scallions, vegetable oil, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, and water. Using a rubber spatula, mix and fold the mixture in one direction for about 5 to 10 minutes until it becomes sticky, like a paste.
- Prepare a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Get a small bowl of cold water. Lastly, bring a small pot of water to a boil, so you can taste-test the filling.
- To assemble the wontons, take your square wonton wrapper, dab one side of the square with your finger, and add about a teaspoon of filling in the center. Gently fold the wrapper in half and seal on all sides. Using your finger, brush another dab of water on one corner (of the filling side), and gently bring in and overlap the two corners of the wonton by pressing them together. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan. Make one more, cook, and taste test the two samples. Make adjustments accordingly to taste before proceeding to make the whole batch.
- To cook the wontons, boil water in a pot, and add the wontons (fresh or frozen, but never defrosted wontons). To prevent the wontons from sticking to the bottom of the pot, stir the boiling water gently so the water is moving when you add in the wontons. Cook uncovered for about 3-5 minutes using medium heat. This is also a good time to blanch some leafy greens to complete the meal. If necessary, add ½ cup cold water if the water is boiling too vigorously. This helps manage the starch levels in the water. The wontons are done once they float to the surface and turn plump.
- Since it’s best to serve wontons with stock or broth, it’s a good idea to heat up the stock or broth at the same time as you’re cooking the wontons. I like to use chicken broth or a mixture of chicken and pork broth, which you have to prepare ahead of time. More times than not, I just use the water that I cooked the wontons in. This is my trick for when I am in a pinch--you can give it a try too. I first add light soy sauce, sesame oil, ground white pepper, and chopped scallions to the soup bowl. Then I ladle in the cooked wontons and some of the cooking water, stir, and salt to taste.
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
I am so grateful to all of you, it is hard to express in words. My husband is ABC, I am from Spain and at times it feels like we won’t be able to honor their heritage. You’ve made that challenge so much more achievable. Our family is forever grateful to yours! PS: My in-laws are both Shanghainese too ☺️
Hi Olga, thank you so much for trying to carry on our tradition and heritage :-)
I want to take wonton soup to my friend in the hospital (his mom is the patient). Can you please advise me on how I can get this to him without the wontons getting soggy and gummy? Thank you!
Hi Linda, you can cook wontons and keep them separate from the soup. Combine both right before serving.
These sound to “die” for! Some rainy day…. meanwhile, I have a request! Going forward, might it be possible for you to put in the American way of pronouncing these Chinese foods! For example, are these ” San, as in San Francisco”…and ” zian”, or ” zan” or what? It would be helpful to us Americans; please and thank you! 😋
Hi Joan, I know what you mean. It is “shian” in this case, not “zian” or “zan” :-)
Hah! 🤗 What a coincidence to run across this today while cruising your site! Thank you for the response. I’ll say it again, the highlight of my day is spending a few minutes of visual and epicural pleasure on this site! All of the recipes are outstanding as are the step-by-step guide and ingredients lists! 👍🥢🥡🍜
Thank you so much for your high praise, Joan :-)
Omg! Thank you for the recipe. It is excellent. Forget the soup! Just eating the wontons only!!!
Indeed! San Xian Wonton is pretty special :-)
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!! as of yet, I’ve only had the ‘test subjects’, but they were AMAZING! i can’t wait till they’re all done!
Thank you so much.
Question – Can I mix all the meat in a mixer instead of by hand? Sorry if you have answered this in previous question. Thanks!
Yes, it is encouraged.
Hello I just wanted to say Thanks to you all here at the Woks of Life I make so so many of your recipes with always very good results. I finally tried to do my own Wonton Soup last night and while my wrapping was not perfect and I am pretty sure I got the wrong wrappers at JMart here in Brooklyn. The filling was wonderful and now to work on my stock. Thank you again for all you share from your families recipe boxes to us. I wish I could attach a photo to show how wonderful it came out again thank you so much.
That’s so wonderful, Marissa. You can tag us with your photo on Instagram, we’d love to see it.