Cantonese Wonton Soup

I first made this earlier in the month for our Chinese New Year Dinner, and it's still being talked about. It is probably the simplicity of the dish that draws people in, and it's great to have friends round helping to wrap the wontons. I served this tonight as part of a Noodle with Wonton Soup meal, and had the recipe doubled, so we ended up with plenty to go around. I've also used chicken mince instead of pork on both occasions, due to special dietary requirements.

225 g (8 oz) wonton skins, thawed if necessary
1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken stock
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Chopped green spring onion tops, to garnish

For the filling:
225 g (8 oz) raw prawns, peeled, de-veined and coarsely chopped
225 g (8 oz) minced fatty pork, or chicken mince
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions (white part only)
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh root ginger
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 egg white, lightly beaten

For the filling, put the prawns and pork in a large bowl, add the salt and pepper and mix well, either by kneading with your hand or stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add all the other filling ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with cling-film and chill for at least 20 minutes.

To stuff the wontons, put 1 tablespoon of the filling in the centre of each wonton skin. Dampen the edges with a little water and bring them up around the filling. Pinch the edges together at the top so that the wonton is sealed; it should look like a small, filled bag.

Put the stock, soy sauce and sesame oil in a large pot and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and poach the wontons in it, in batched, for 1 minute or until they float to the top.

Remove the wontons immediately and transfer them to the pot of stock. (Poaching them first results in a cleaner-tasting broth.) Simmer them in the stock for 2 minutes. Transfer to a soup tureen or individual bowls, garnish with the spring onion tops and serve immediately.