Chicken Wonton Soup

I've posted on here before about my mom's amazing wontons and that we were lucky enough to get those and wonton soup on the same night. Life was good in my home. My mom was a fantastic home cook and I hope that I follow in her steps, if only in a small way by honoring her and her recipes.

The base of this recipe is hers. But, I've added some extra vegetables to the end product to boost the heartiness. Feel free to add and take away vegetables that you love.

Chicken Wonton Soup

2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
10-12 cups water
3 stalks  celery, cut into chunks
whole yellow onion, peeled and cut into chunks
1 TSBP salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

To make the chicken broth for the soup, bring all above ingredients to a boil in a large stock pot. Once it comes to a boil, reduce to simmer, add lid to pot, and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
After an hour, take the pot off the heat and remove the chicken, celery stalks and onions. Discard the celery and onion and allow chicken to cool. Once chicken has cooled, remove skin and bones and discard. Shred chicken into small pieces and set aside for the wonton filling. Skim any impurities off the top of the broth with a slotted spoon, and discard them.

To make Wontons

1 package square wonton wrappers (you will use about half-25)
3 green onions, sliced
cooked and shredded chicken (see above recipe)
2 TBSP light soy sauce
water to seal edges of wontons

In a small bowl, mix together chicken, green onions and soy sauce, until sauce covers the chicken.
Set up a bowl with some water in it. Lay out 5-10 wontons at a time on a flat surface, adding about 1 TBSP of chicken into the center of each wonton. Using your finger, wet the edges of the wonton wrapper and fold the wonton in half to make a triangle, sealing the edges as you fold. Set them aside to cook in the broth.

Additions to Wonton Soup

1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup snow peas
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 c light soy sauce

Place the chicken broth back on stove over medium heat. Add all ingredients and let simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. Add the filled wontons in the last 7 minutes of cooking time. Wontons are cooked through when they float. Taste broth adding salt and pepper as needed.  Serve immediately.