Shrimp Wanton Ramen

Ingredients:

500g fresh shrimp

1 packet of fresh/dried ramen

Soup

2 tbsp cooking oil

prawn shell

1 cup rice wine

5 cups chicken stock

2 cups soy milk or water

Wontons

2 cloves garlic ~ chopped

1oz ginger ~ chopped

2 spring onions ~ chopped

1 egg white

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp rice wine

1 tsp sesame oil

1-1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp ground black pepper

Wonton wrappers

Ramen (per bowl)

1 clove garlic ~ grated

1 tbsp Tsuyu (Japanese soup base sauce)

1/2 bok choy

1 portion fresh/frozen ramen noodles

1/2 ramen egg (recipe)

chopped green onions

black & white sesame seeds

Chili oil ~ optional

Direction/Instruction:

1. Remove the heads & shells of the shrimp & place them in a medium-sized pot for soup.  Keep meat aside for wontons.  Add cooking oil to a pot, turn on the heat to medium-high & saute shrimp heads & shells.  During this time, squeeze the shrimp head with a wooden spoon to get a beautiful buttery flavor of orange "goo".
2. When the shrimps' heads & shells are orange & the bottom of the pan has lots of brown bits, about 4 mins, add rice wine.  Deglaze the bottom of the pot.  Pour chicken stock & soy milk.  Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low & simmer for 30 mins without a lid.  Stir occasionally.
3. For wontons, chop shrimp meat until it's a sticky & pasty texture.  Place shrimp in a mixing bowl then add all the wonton ingredients; mix well together.
4. Bring one wonton wrapper on your palm & wet edges with a little cold water.  Place about 1 tsp of filling in the middle & fold by bringing all edges together.  No special folding skills are required for this type of wonton; sure it's well-sealed.  Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
5. When the soup is done simmering, remove shrimp heads & shells from the soup.  Keep it warm.
6. Bring another pot of water to a boil & add a generous amount of salt.  Blanch bok choy for 1 min & remove, drain & set aside.
7. Drop wontons (5-7 per serving) into now-empty salted boiling water.  30 seconds later, add fresh ramen noodles & cook by following the directions in the package.  If using dried ramen noodles, cook noodles ahead separately.
8. In a serving bowl, grate 1 clove of garlic & add 1 tbsp tsuyu.  Pour 1-1/2 to 2 cups of broth into a serving bowl.  Drain cooked ramen noodles & add into a bowl.  Stir noodles to coat evenly with broth & arrange them.  Top wontons, blanched bok choy, ramen egg, chopped green onions, sesame seeds & chili oil.

Note: Can substitute soy milk with water if prefer clear shrimp broth then creamy broth.