Classic Thai Wonton Chicken Noodle Soup

4cm (1.5 inch) piece ginger, sliced and lightly bruised

1 tsp whole black peppercorns

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1kg (2 lb 3 oz) chicken wings

2 whole star anise

2 litres (2.1 qt) chicken stock

1 tbsp light soy sauce

600g (1 lb 5 oz) fresh Chinese egg noodles (or your noodle of choice)

200g (8 oz) Chinese BBQ char siu pork (either store-bought or try my homemade BBQ pork recipe), thinly sliced

finely sliced spring onion (scallions), to serve

Wontons

300g (10.5 oz) pork mince

¼ cup finely chopped spring onion (scallions)

¼ tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)

1 tsp sesame oil

½ tsp sea salt

20 wonton wrappers

• For the broth, place the garlic, ginger and black peppercorns in a mortar. Use a pestle to pound the aromatics to a rough paste. Set aside.
• Add the vegetable oil to a large saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Add the garlic paste and cook gently, stirring, for a minute or until fragrant (be careful not to burn the garlic here). Next, add the chicken wings and give everything a stir to mix all those flavours together. Throw in the star anise, then pour in the chicken stock, followed by the soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low and let it all bubble away gently, occasionally skimming off any scum from the surface, for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, for the wontons, combine the pork mince, spring onion, white pepper, cornflour, sesame oil, salt and 1 tablespoon of water in a large bowl. You want to mix it all together (I like to stir it with a pair of chopsticks) until the mixture forms a single ball – a bit like dough coming together. Next, grab a wonton wrapper. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling mix in the centre of a wonton wrapper. Bring in the sides around the filling, pressing to seal – it should look a little like a comet shape, but there’s no fancy technique involved here. Place on a large tray lined with baking paper, then repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
• Back to your broth. Strain it into a large bowl and discard the solids (or do as I do and eat the chicken wings with a large dose of chilli sauce!). Keep the broth warm.
• Now it’s noodle time. Cook your noodles in a large pot of boiling water (use a separate pot of water and not your broth, as otherwise you’ll make your beautiful soup go cloudy) until al dente, then scoop them out with a spider strainer and transfer to serving bowls. Add your wontons to the same pot of water, cooking for 3–4 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer to serving bowls.
• Top the noodles with the Chinese BBQ pork, if using. Sprinkle over spring onion, then ladle over the warm broth.