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Soup season · Hong Kong, China
The best bowl in Hong Kong: Wonton noodle soup
Thin, springy egg noodles and shrimp wontons in a golden broth of dried flounder, pork bones and shrimp roe, served in a small bowl with a spoon underneath the noodles.
Wonton noodles are Hong Kong's bowl, served small so you can have two. Mak's has been making them since the 1960s and still keeps the noodles al dente on purpose.
Mak's Noodle
77 Wellington St, Central, Hong Kong
Get: A wonton noodle soup and a plate of beef brisket noodles to share
一碗雲吞麵，唔該。(Yat wun wan tan min, m goi.)One wonton noodles, please.
A family name in Hong Kong wonton noodles for three generations; the broth is dried flounder and shrimp roe, and the noodles are made with duck egg.
Lunch through early evening; the room is tiny, so you'll share a table.
Make it at home
Hong Kong shrimp wonton noodle soup
Dried flounder and dried shrimp give the broth its deep, sweet sea flavor. Toast the flounder before simmering. Fill the wontons with mostly shrimp and a little pork fat so they snap when you bite.
You need
- For the broth: 1 oz (30 g) dried flounder (daimyo fish), 2 tbsp dried shrimp, 2 lb (900 g) pork bones, 1 small piece rock sugar or 1 tsp sugar, 10 cups (2.4 l) water, 1 tsp salt, white pepper
- For the wontons: 10 oz (280 g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and patted dry
- 2 oz (55 g) fatty ground pork
- 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 egg yolk
- About 32 thin square wonton wrappers (the yellow Hong Kong style)
- 4 portions (about 10 oz / 280 g) thin fresh egg noodles (wonton noodles)
- To serve: chopped yellow chives or scallions, a few drops of sesame oil, red vinegar and chili oil on the side
How to make it
- Toast the dried flounder in a dry pan over medium-low heat, 2 to 3 minutes a side, until golden and fragrant. Break into pieces.
- Put the pork bones in a pot of cold water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, drain and rinse. This keeps the broth clear.
- Return the bones to the clean pot with the toasted flounder, dried shrimp, rock sugar and the 10 cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer very gently, uncovered, for 1 hour. Never let it boil hard or it clouds. Strain, season with salt and white pepper.
- For the wontons, cut each shrimp into 3 pieces, and lightly smash half of them with the flat of a cleaver. Mix with the pork, salt, sugar, sesame oil, pepper, cornstarch and yolk. Stir hard in one direction for 2 minutes until sticky. Chill 15 minutes.
- Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the center of a wrapper. Wet the edges, fold in half into a triangle, press out the air, then bring the two side corners together and pinch. Keep them under a damp towel.
- Bring two pots of water to a boil. Boil the wontons in one for 3 to 4 minutes, until they float and the shrimp shows pink through the wrapper.
- Shake the noodles loose and cook them in the other pot for 20 to 30 seconds only. Lift them out and rinse quickly under cold water, then dip back in the hot water 5 seconds. This gives the springy bite.
- Put 8 wontons in each bowl, the noodles on top, then ladle over the hot broth. Finish with chives and a drop of sesame oil. Serve with red vinegar and chili oil.
Pans and tools
- Stockpot
- Two pots for boiling
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Spider or slotted spoon
Chef's tips
- Dried flounder is sold in Chinese grocers; the broth is still good without it, using more dried shrimp.
- Freeze extra wontons on a tray, then bag them. Cook from frozen, adding a minute.
- Hong Kong noodles are alkaline, thin and yellow; look for fresh wonton noodles in the refrigerated aisle.
Four more bowls in Hong Kong
Beef brisket noodles
Melting beef brisket in a clear, spiced broth with egg noodles.
Kau Kee · 21 Gough St, Central, Hong Kong
Get: Beef brisket with e-fu noodles in clear broth, or the curry brisket
清湯牛腩伊麵 (cheng tong ngau nam yi min).Clear broth brisket with e-fu noodles.
A Gough Street brisket shop open for nearly a century, with queues out the door.
Make it at home: Hong Kong beef brisket noodle soup
Cantonese brisket is simmered with whole spices until soft enough to cut with chopsticks. Ask for brisket with some fat and tendon.
You need
- 2 1/2 lb (1.1 kg) beef brisket (with some fat and tendon), in 2 in (5 cm) chunks
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 2 in (5 cm) ginger, sliced, 4 green onions
- 3 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 1 piece dried tangerine peel, 1 piece licorice root (optional)
- 1 piece rock sugar (1 tbsp), 2 tbsp light soy, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 daikon, peeled, in chunks
- 1 lb (450 g) fresh egg noodles
- Chinese greens and white pepper
How to make it
- Blanch the brisket 5 minutes and rinse.
- Put it in the water with the ginger, green onions and spices (in a cloth bag), and simmer 2 hours.
- Add the rock sugar, soy, oyster sauce, wine and daikon and simmer 40 minutes more, until the beef and daikon are tender.
- Skim the fat and season the broth with salt and white pepper.
- Cook the noodles and greens, put them in bowls, add brisket and daikon, and ladle over the broth.
Chef's tips
- Better the next day, and the fat is easier to lift off cold.
Snake soup
A thick, gingery soup of shredded snake, chicken, mushroom and fish maw, with lemon leaves and crisp crackers.
Ser Wong Fun · 30 Cochrane St, Central, Hong Kong
Get: A bowl of snake soup, and the lap mei fan (cured meat rice) in winter
一碗蛇羹 (yat wun se gang).One bowl of snake soup.
A Central snake soup shop since 1895, with Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition.
Best in the cool months, when Hong Kong eats it to stay warm.
Make it at home: Snake soup, with chicken
Snake meat is hard to buy outside Asia; Hong Kong cooks themselves often stretch it with chicken. This home version uses only chicken and keeps the flavorings: ginger, lemon leaf and chrysanthemum.
You need
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) chicken thighs (or 1/2 lb snake meat plus 1 lb chicken)
- 6 cups (1.4 l) chicken stock
- 2 in (5 cm) ginger, sliced, plus 1 in (2.5 cm) in fine matchsticks
- 4 dried shiitake, soaked and finely shredded
- 1 piece dried tangerine peel, soaked
- 1 oz (30 g) dried fish maw, soaked and shredded (optional)
- 1/4 cup (25 g) wood ear fungus, soaked and shredded
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp soy, 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1/3 cup (80 ml) water
- 6 makrut lime leaves, cut in hair-thin strips
- Dried chrysanthemum petals and crisp fried wonton strips, to serve
How to make it
- Simmer the chicken in the stock with the sliced ginger and tangerine peel 25 minutes. Lift out the chicken and shred it into fine threads.
- Strain the stock, add the shiitake, fish maw, wood ear and ginger matchsticks, and simmer 15 minutes.
- Add the chicken, wine, soy and salt.
- Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook 2 minutes, until thick and glossy.
- Serve topped with lime leaf strips, chrysanthemum petals and crisp wonton strips.
Chef's tips
- The lime leaves must be cut as thin as hair.
Congee
Fish congee so smooth it pours, from a shop that makes nothing else.
Sang Kee Congee Shop · 7-9 Burd St, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Get: Fish belly congee, or the mixed pork liver and kidney, with a fried dough stick
魚腩粥 (yu naam juk).Fish belly congee.
A family congee shop in Sheung Wan whose fish congee Hong Kong food writers count among the city's best.
Make it at home: Cantonese congee with pork and century egg
Soaking the rice with a little oil helps it break down into the silky texture Hong Kong cooks want.
You need
- 3/4 cup (150 g) jasmine rice
- 1 tsp neutral oil, 1/2 tsp salt
- 10 cups (2.4 l) water or light chicken stock
- 1 in (2.5 cm) ginger, in thin matchsticks
- 1/2 lb (225 g) pork tenderloin, thinly sliced, mixed with 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 century eggs, peeled and chopped
- White pepper, sesame oil, sliced green onion, cilantro
- Fried dough sticks (yau char kwai), to serve
How to make it
- Rinse the rice, drain, mix with the oil and salt and leave 30 minutes (or freeze it overnight, which breaks it down faster).
- Bring the water to a boil, add the rice and half the ginger, and simmer, stirring now and then, 1 1/4 hours, until it's smooth and porridge-thick.
- Stir in the pork and half the century egg and simmer 3 minutes, until the pork is just cooked.
- Season with salt and white pepper and serve with the rest of the egg and ginger, green onion, cilantro, a few drops of sesame oil and fried dough to dip.
Chef's tips
- Thin with hot water if it gets too thick; it keeps thickening as it sits.
Macaroni soup with ham
Macaroni in chicken broth with ham, with scrambled eggs and toast on the side: the cha chaan teng breakfast.
Australia Dairy Company · 47-49 Parkes St, Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Get: Set A: macaroni with ham, scrambled eggs, toast, and a steamed milk pudding
A餐 (A chaan).Set A.
A Jordan cha chaan teng famous for its scrambled eggs and curt, fast service; queue, share a table, eat and go.
Make it at home: Hong Kong macaroni soup with ham
The Hong Kong café breakfast, a colonial mix that nobody there would change. Plain boxed macaroni and sliced ham are right.
You need
- 1 1/2 cups (150 g) elbow macaroni
- 3 cups (720 ml) chicken broth
- 4 slices ham, in strips
- 1/2 tsp sugar, salt and white pepper
- A few drops sesame oil
- For the eggs: 4 eggs, 2 tbsp milk, a pinch of salt, 1 tbsp butter
- Buttered toast, to serve
How to make it
- Boil the macaroni until soft (a little softer than al dente), drain and rinse.
- Heat the broth with the sugar, season with salt and white pepper, and add the ham.
- Add the macaroni and heat through, then put in bowls with a few drops of sesame oil.
- Beat the eggs with the milk and salt; cook gently in the butter, folding, until just set and very soft.
- Serve the soup with the eggs and buttered toast.
Chef's tips
- Take the eggs off the heat while they still look wet.
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