In Colorado, where I live, the weather is always a topic of conversation. One day it’s bright and sunny and you want to wear flip-flops, and the next day you’re bundling up with a beanie on and it’s snowing. It was one of the last snowy days in late spring when I first made this hot pot for my family. We made the wontons together, and I told them how I used to make them with my family for our church fair when I was growing up. My kids always enjoy eating and trying new things when they participate in the cooking, so they loved this hot pot — the wontons almost fill with the broth like a soup dumpling, and cook fairly quickly because of the small amount of filling in them. The kids gobbled up their wontons pretty fast, so feel free to add more if you’ve got little wonton lovers too!
This recipe is easy to scale up or down depending on the size of your group and hot pot. Just be sure that your hot pot is filled about halfway with broth. If the liquid reduces overtime, add more.
Make in Advance:
Pork Wontons (1 hr 10 minutes)
Macanese Broth (3 hrs 40 minutes)
Pork Wontons with Macanese Broth
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1⁄2 medium Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
- 2 black garlic cloves, or regular garlic cloves, chopped (see Notes)
- 2 quarts Macanese Broth
- 24 Mom’s Crispy Pork Wontons, uncooked
- 3 baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise
- 3 ounces enoki mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and shredded; or 6 ounces spiralized sweet potato
- 2 large scallions, white and light green parts only, cut diagonally into 2-inch lengths
- 1 block firm tofu, 14 ounces, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
Instructions
- In a 4-quart (3.8 L) hot pot or large saucepan over medium-high heat (about 425°F, or 220°C, in an electric pot), heat the vegetable oil. Add the onion. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until translucent. Add the garlic. Cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the Macanese broth and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the wontons. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the vegetables and tofu. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes more, until the wontons are cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
- Ladle into shallow bowls and serve.
Notes
Black garlic is fermented garlic that is sweet and savory with a deep molasses-like flavor and a very soft consistency. It’s signature black appearance is due to the fermentation process where it produces melanoidin and turns the garlic black. You can find it in specialty food shops and online.