Wantan soup is a Chinese soup that is much consumed in Cuzco. It is made from chicken stock fortified with other meats, such as pork. It is very similar to one of our favorite soups, a light chicken soup which we have to recover whenever we do not feel well. The main difference is that wantan soup has in it folded and stuffed wantans and thin noodles. However the flavor is not at all the same. It has different seasonings and you can never miss the wantans or noodles.
Wantan is a thin wrapper made in a quadrangular form from dough and is stuffed with a small amount of ground or diced pork. It is very utilized to prepare the different forms of fried wantans which we also love. And, you will always find it cooked in soups. Our Chinese restaurants, called chifas use it in many preparations especially the wantan soup.
The ingredients of a simple wantan soup are chicken, vegetables such as green onions, wantans, cabbage, thin noodles, ginger that we call kion, salt to taste and at the table you can always add sillao, that is soy sauce.
Wantan soup tends to be the first course of one of our lunches to whet your appetite as you wait for the main course you asked for. Of course it is always available in the fixed specials (called menus) of the chifas where it is simply included in the order.
In our city people have the custom of having a wantan soup before their main course. It is like our normal lunch which always includes first a soup and second you main dish.
You look through the menu to find the main dish you want, you order it, and almost immediately the wantan soup appears on your table without you saying anything. We tend to eat a lot for our midday meal and so this arrangement satisfies us. But for those who want less, you can just order a large bowl of soup and enjoy.
In any case, wantan soup is available in all the chifas, Peruvian Chinese restaurants, in our city. You will never miss out on the option of having wantan soup, should you wish. It is wonderful by itself or, following tradition, as part of a full lunch.
