Wontons

Ingredients:

1 pack defrosted wonton wrappers (in frozen section; I use the Hong Kong style ones, which are square and yellowish and very thin)
1 beaten egg in a small bowl (= the "glue")

**Filling, Variant A:
1 lb ground pork or lamb
2 cups chopped Chinese leek ("Gau Choy"; also called chives; long, green, with a bud at the end, they really do look like Western chives)
1 egg, beaten
10 dried Chinese mushrooms

**Filling, Variant B:
1 lb ground pork
1/2 lb raw shrimp, chopped
1 egg, beaten
10 dried Chinese mushrooms
1 cup water chestnut, chopped

**Seasoning for filling:
soya sauce
salt
sugar
corn starch
sesame oil
white pepper

**Soup:
1/2 chicken (or equivalent in wings)
1/2 Napa cabbage
1 piece Knorr soup stock ("Chinese Ham Bouillon" is a personal favorite)
2 small packets vermicelli, pre-soaked in cold water till tender
10 dried Chinese mushrooms

**Dipping sauce:
1 TBS dark soya sauce
1 tsp chili oil (dried chili in oil)
2 TBS white vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil

1. Soak the mushrooms in hot water for a very long time, until tender.
2. Soak the vermicelli in cold water until tender.
3. Start the soup by boiling the chicken wings and bouillon cube in a large pot of water. Slice the Napa cabbage and add.
4. Slice 10 mushrooms and add to soup pot.
5. Mix the ingredients for the filling [mushrooms should be finely chopped].
6. Holding a wrapper in the palm of one hand, spoon about 2 tsp of filling into the middle. Dip a finger into the beaten egg and spread the egg on the edges of the wrapper. Fold in half, lengthwise. With the opening facing you, put packet on the middle finger of your right hand. Put some egg onto the upper right corner (corner that's on the fold, i.e. the side facing away from you). Holding onto the upper left corner with your left thumb and index finger, and the upper right corner with the same fingers of your right hand, gently bend so that you bring the upper left corner over the upper right corner. Press and seal.
[**alternatively, just bunch up the wrapper after spreading egg on its edges and hope for the best!]
7. Boil some water; cook the wontons in it when you're ready. The wontons should be cooked when they float.
8. Just before serving, put the vermicelli in the soup.
9. Serve in individual bowls in soup, with dipping sauce by the side.

**Alternative:
Serve with bowl of wonton noodles!