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Dale Talde

Wonton Soup
S24E5 Asian · 2020
Where to find them
● @daletalde

Dale Talde was on Top Chef twice (Seasons 4 and 8), opened TALDE restaurants in Brooklyn, Jersey City, and Miami, watched them all close, and reopened with Goosefeather in Tarrytown and Tigress in Naples. He is one of the more openly Asian-American chefs of his generation, in the sense that he has spent his career arguing — out loud, in interviews — that Filipino-Chinese-American food does not need to apologize for itself.

He beat Bobby with wonton soup. Soup, again. Talde's wontons had pork that had been velveted — marinated in cornstarch and soy and a little baking soda — before being folded into the skin. Bobby's pork was raw-into-wrapper. Velveted pork is silky. Raw pork is just cooked pork. The judges felt the difference in the chew.

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Wonton Soup

25 min Prep
35 min Cook
4 Serves
Ingredients
  • 8 oz ground pork, finely minced
  • 2 oz shrimp, minced
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 green onion, finely chopped
  • 24 wonton wrappers
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
  • 1 tbsp chili oil
  • 2 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Combine ground pork, minced shrimp, 1 tbsp soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and green onion in a bowl. Mix gently until just combined—do not overmix or wontons will be dense. Fill each wonton wrapper with 1 tsp filling, wet edges with water, fold into triangle, then bring corners together and seal tightly.
  2. Bring 6 cups chicken stock to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp soy sauce and white pepper, stirring to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.
  3. Working in batches to avoid crowding, gently drop wontons into boiling stock. They will sink, then float to the surface after 3-4 minutes. Once floating, cook for another 2 minutes until the wrapper becomes translucent and slightly tender.
  4. Add halved bok choy to the pot and simmer for 2-3 minutes until stems are tender-crisp but still have bite.
  5. Ladle wontons and soup into bowls, dividing bok choy evenly. Drizzle each bowl with ½ tsp chili oil and finish with a pinch of white pepper. Serve immediately at 180°F while broth is still steaming.
Inspired by Dale Talde’s winning wonton soup. This is a plausible recreation, not the chef’s original recipe.
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