Pork & Shrimp Wonton Filling Recipe (with Video)

Making the aromatic water
1. Lightly smash the piece of ginger and 2 stalks of scallions to help release its fragrance. In a bowl, add the smashed ginger, scallions, dried shiitake mushrooms, and Sichuan red peppercorns (optional).
2. Add about 2 cups of warm water and make sure the mushrooms are submerged. Let sit until mushrooms fully rehydrate (usually about 30-45 min) while you prep all the other ingredients.
Preparing the filling ingredients
1. Chop up the peeled and deveined shrimp into small bite-sized pieces. Put into a bowl with 1 tsp of cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Mix well -- if it's really dry, add a few drops of water. Set aside and let marinade. The cornstarch will help the shrimp stay snappy and bouncy.
2. Finely dice the bamboo shoots and the pearl onions or shallots. Slice 2 stalks of scallions thinly, and keep the whites and greens separate. The whites will be for the wonton filling, and the green will be garnish for the soup. Set aside.
3. Mince the pork butt by first slicing the meat into thin, flat steaks. Then, slice those steaks into long strips. Turn the strips 90 degrees so that they're perpendicular to your knife, then slice into small cubes. Once they're small cubes, you can use a large cleaver or knife to continue chopping until they're minced. While mincing, you'll want to pause and occasionally fold the meat over itself to get a sticky, bouncy texture. See the video above for a quick tutorial and to see what the end result should look like. Set aside in a mixing bowl.
4. Once the shiitake mushrooms are completely rehydrated (you can test by squeezing -- there should be no hardness to them), squeeze out the liquid, remove the tough middle stems, and finely dice. Save the aromatic water for the filling.
5. Heat up a pan to medium heat with a tbsp of neutral oil. Add diced mushrooms, pearl onions or shallots, and a pinch of salt. Saute until they're slightly caramelized (about 3-4 minutes). Remove from the pan, and add the dried baby shrimp to the pan. Toast until fragrant and slightly crunchy and brittle (about 3 minutes).
6. In a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, grind the dried baby shrimp into a powder. If you don't have either of these tools, you can try a rolling pin, or chop them up really finely.
Mixing the filling
1. In the mixing bowl with the minced pork, add all the seasonings: the dried shrimp powder, cornstarch, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, chicken bouillon powder, sesame oil, white pepper, and add the white parts of the scallions last, on top.
2. (Optional) Heat up 2 tbsp of neutral oil and pour over the scallions to bring out their fragrance -- it should sizzle. Alternatively, just add 2 tbsp of neutral oil to the filling.
3. Mix with either chopsticks or your hands vigorously in one direction (I usually go clock-wise), until everything is well incorporated.
4. Add 2 tbsp of the aromatic water, then mix vigorously again in the same direction, until the water is all absorbed. Repeat 3 times.
5. Continue mixing until you see the texture change as the meat proteins break down. You should see "webs" or "strings" of protein in the meat when you're mixing, and the texture should be sticky and bouncy. This took me a good few minutes of mixing. See video for reference!
6. Once you're at the right texture, add the sautéed mushrooms and onions, marinated shrimp, and finely diced bamboo shoots. Mix one final time until everything is incorporated.
7. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight to let flavors marinade. Use wonton wrappers & serving style of choice.