Wonton Mee
The dish started to appear in other parts of the world when the Chinese migrated overseas during the 1950s. Since then, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have their own variations of the dish. The Singaporean hawker version is unique with ketchup used as the sauce for noodles and char siew meat (lean slices of sweet barbequed pork) as an added ingredient. The dish can be easily found at local hawkers, coffee shops and restaurants.
Wonton in Cantonese means ‘swallowing cloud’ because of its shape and the way it floats in the broth that reminds people of clouds. It is usually smaller than dumplings and the skin is made with a thinner layer of dough, which may turn transparent after being cooked.
Unlike Italian spaghetti, wanton noodles are thin, round and springy. The al dente style of preparation gives the noodles a firm bite. In some places, the noodles are made from the same dough as wonton skin.
The wonton is savoury, made bite sized and its skin smooth. The filling usually contains salty minced pork, crunchy chestnut, and spring onions. Alternative types of wontons are stuffed with a mixture of prawns, minced pork and mushrooms.
The common toppings for this dish are leafy vegetables like caixin, and char siew meat. Hong Kong styled wonton mee generally uses kailan instead. The ingredients are tossed together with the noodles in ketchup or black soya sauce. Chilli sauce is often added for extra flavour.
