Wonton soup is comfort food - one of the first things I eat when I come back to Hong Kong after a trip abroad. Although I usually eat wonton soup at small restaurants that specialise in it, it's also something that's easy enough to make at home. This version has plenty of vegetables, along with minced pork and shrimp.
Try to use young bak choi - the smallest you can find, which is more tender and less fibrous than the larger specimens. The Chinese chives should be the flat ones, not the stronger-tasting flowering chives (which are also called garlic chives).
If you want a more substantial meal, boil some Chinese noodles (wheat or rice noodles) then drain them and add them to the bowl before placing the wonton on top.
Thoroughly rinse the bak choi then put it in a bowl of lightly salted water, leave to soak for about 10 minutes, then drain.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the bak choi and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain, rinse with cold water then drain again. Squeeze out the excess liquid. Finely chop the bak choi then lay it over a clean, dry dishcloth. Roll the dishcloth tightly and wring out as much liquid as possible. Put the bak choi in a large bowl.
Finely mince the Chinese chives and ginger, and cut the shrimp into very small pieces. Add these ingredients to the bowl along with the minced pork, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, white pepper, cornstarch, sesame oil and one teaspoon of salt. Mix thoroughly.
Shape some of the mixture into a ball and poach it in boiling water until cooked. Taste it to check the seasonings, then adjust if necessary. Chill the mixture in the fridge for about an hour.
Fill a small bowl with water. Place about half the wonton wrappers on the work surface and keep the rest covered, so they don't dry out.
Take a wonton wrapper and place it on the palm of your left hand hand (if you're right-handed), with one corner pointing towards you. Put a spoonful of the vegetable-pork mixture about 2cm (⅞ in) up from the corner of the wrapper, fold the corner over the filling then fold it again so the filling is completely enclosed. Bring the two opposing corners of the wrapper under the filling and dampen one of them. Overlap the corners, placing the dry one on top of the wet one, and press firmly so they adhere to each other. Put the wonton on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil and continue with the rest of the filling and wrappers.
Heat the chicken stock with the ginger until it is simmering, then season it to taste with salt.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the peas and cook for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the peas from the water then drain them, rinse with cold water and drain again.
In the same pot of water, cook the wonton in batches. They'll sink to the bottom of the pot then rise to the surface. Once they start floating, boil them for about a minute, or until the filling is cooked. Use a slotted ladle to scoop the wonton from the water and place them into individual soup noodle bowls.
Ladle the chicken stock over the wonton. Drizzle with sesame oil and add some green peas and spring onions. Let your guests mix their own sauce ingredients with the vinegar, ginger, soy sauce and chilli oil.