This iconic Cantonese cuisine dish holds a special place in the hearts of many people, who consider it the ultimate comfort food. Fans, authors, auteurs, chefs and even scholars wax lyrically when referring the dish.

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It features, for example, in one of cinema’s greatest love stories, Wong Kar-wai’s masterpiece, In the Mood for Love. It’s a film in which most communication is done through body language, including a close up of actor Tony Leung’s character eating wonton, where the camera lingers on every bite.

Despite the love that Hong Kong people have for the dish it has been available in the city only since the early 1940s. Wonton noodles originated in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and were introduced to Hong Kong by the Guangzhou wonton legend Mak Woon-chi, who went on to open the famous Mak’s Noodle.

Regional differences

Yet the love of the dish is not confined to Hong Kong, with people in Malaysia and Singapore also enamoured by it.

In Hong Kong, the quintessential version consists of wonton (sometimes just shrimp, or shrimp and pork) and blanched noodles served in a fragrant broth that complements rather than overpowers. The dish is often garnished with a leafy Chinese vegetable like gai lan or choi sum.

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Less common is the serving of soup and wontons in a separate bowl, with noodles on the side; or lo mein, which has the wonton placed on a bed of noodles with the broth on the side.

In Malaysia, it depends where you eat it. Chooi Yee Fook from Ipoh, in Malaysia, says: “Every state in Malaysia has its own style, but overall we like our noodles served with more than just wontons. In general, we add super lean char siu [barbecued pork], blanched choi sum with fermented green chilli and soy sauce on the side.”

Chooi, who learned to cook from his father, has worked in his family’s famous wonton noodle restaurant, Wan Ton Mee, for 45 years. He says that some restaurants even serve it with shredded chicken, slow-cooked chicken feet or roast pork, so no two bowls taste quite the same.

“Our wontons are also smaller and are made with pork or shrimp, almost never both,” he says.

David Yip, a Singapore-based journalist and chef, says: “Singaporeans prefer their wonton noodles spicy and savoury. The Malaysian version is similar, except the soy sauce is caramelised making it darker and sweeter.”

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On the spicy front the dish is often served with pickled green chillies and chilli sauce/chilli ketchup on the side. The similarities include the addition of char siu and choi sum.

Singapore hawker stalls often sell what they refer to as wet or dry versions. The wet version is similar to the Hong Kong version, while in the dry version, the noodles and char siu are served on a plate and the broth and wontons are served in a bowl. Yip says Singaporeans prefer the dry version.

Making wonton noodles

It is a dish that takes heart (and skill) to make. Each core component (wonton, noodles, broth) needs to be executed perfectly.

Wong Yiu Por, executive chef of Hong Kong’s dim sum restaurant, Nove, who makes his own wonton and noodles, says the thickness of the wrapper is extremely important.

“Too thin and it would be hard to contain the filling, but too thick and it affects the texture,” he says. At the same time the wonton needs to be thin enough to be almost translucent.

Yip says: “The ratio of fat to meat has to be precise to achieve the right texture and taste.”

The wonton should also have the classic goldfish tail appearance. The noodles are made from a mix of flour, duck eggs and kansui, also called lye water. The latter plays an important role in ensuring the noodles have a springy, firm and chewy texture.

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Chooi makes his noodles and wontons fresh each day to an exacting family recipe.

“When making the noodles, it’s important to get the right balance between egg, flour and the alkaline water, which gives the noodle its colour and texture,” he says.

Chooi’s recipe is based on his grandfather’s, who is originally from Guangzhou. “We have adapted it for the local palates, but it is still indicative of its Chinese heritage,” he says.

For the broth, typical ingredients include dried shrimp roe, pork bone and dried flounder.

Wong says: “The broth should have an aroma of dried flounder, which elevates the taste of both wonton and noodles.” In his broth Wong uses dried flounder, baked shrimp shells, dried sea shrimps and pork bone, adding his own aroma-enhancing twist, mushroom.

Chooi says: “For the broth it’s important to get a balance between the pork bones and the dried flounder. Both play important roles in the overall flavour, bringing sweetness and brininess.”

For the love of wonton

It’s a consuming passion, it seems, evident in the way in which the chefs describe their work.

Wong says: “When making wonton noodles both sincerity and earnestness are important. It should have a light golden shimmering broth. It must have chewy and smooth textures.

“In fact, everything needs to be in harmony, from the size of the wonton relative to the bowl, to the complementary harmony between the broth, wonton and noodles.

“Like the art of flower arranging, it needs to have a mesmerising appearance, the different flowers bringing out each one’s beauty while looking harmonious as a whole.”

Chooi says: “Look for firmness in the noodles, clean flavours in the broth and a good balance of saltiness, sweetness and earthiness. The wontons should each be a little bite of heaven, not too overpowering, not too filling.”

Even scholar N J Girardot, university distinguished professor of religion at Lehigh University, in the United States. weighs in on the matter, with self-described “imaginative rhapsody” in his book From Myth and Meaning in Early Taoism, The Themes of Chaos (Hun-tun).

“Wonton dumplings, lumpy and wrinkled, contain the basic elements for life. They float across a primordial sea waiting for their sacrificial and consumptive contribution to the contrition of the human world of alimentation.”

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