Wonton Noodles

The day before you want to make your wonton soup, peel and devein your shrimp. If you want your shrimp to look whole, you devein them without slicing them open by using a toothpick inserted along one side of the vein, to dig the vein out. Once it's peaking out, you should be able to pull the vein out with your fingers.

Put the cleaned shrimp in a bowl and cover with just enough cold water so that the shrimp is submerged.

Add the potassium carbonate and stir. Cover and refrigerate overnight. To make the stock, add the shrimp shells, dried pollack, water, sugar, salt, and soy sauce to a stock pot. Trim the green parts of the scallions and add them to the pot, reserving the white part for the wontons.Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer continuing to remove any foam as it accumulates. Cook until the broth is very flavorful 30-40 minutes. For the wontons, drain and rinse the shrimp with water. Dry the shrimp off, and then slice off about 3/4" of the thickest part of each shrimp.

Add the thick pieces to a bowl.Use a knife to mince the tail ends of the shrimp into a chunky paste.

Add this to a separate small bowl. Finely mince the white parts of the scallions and add 2 teaspoons to the minced shrimp, saving the rest for later. In the bowl with the minced shrimp, add 1 teaspoon of potato starch and 1 teaspoon of Shaoxing wine, along with the oyster sauce, ginger juice, and a dash of white pepper.

Mix well to combine.In the bowl with the thick shrimp pieces, add 1/2 teaspoon of potato starch and 1/2 teaspoon of Shaoxing wine, along with the sugar, salt, and a dash of white pepper.

Mix well to combine.

Let this marinate for 20 minutes.Prepare a small bowl of water. To make the wontons, put one wrapper in the palm of your left hand (or right hand if you're left handed).

Add about 1 teaspoon of minced shrimp filling.Top with 1 large piece of shrimp, wet two edges of the wrapper and fold in half diagonally to make a triangle. Seal the top corner, then work your way down, sealing bowl sides making sure there is no trapped air inside your wonton. Repeat until you run out of shrimp.To finish your soup, soup through a large sieve, into a liquid measuring cup, pressing on the solids to extract as much broth as possible. You should have about 3 cups of broth. If you have less, add water to make 3 cups. Strain this through a very fine mesh sieve (such as a tea strainer) into a clean pot to remove any fine particles. Adjust the salt to taste. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and boil your wontons in batches for about 2 minutes.

Transfer to a shallow bowl with a slotted spoon and toss with a splash of sesame oil to keep them from sticking. Boil your noodles according to the package directions. If you want them al dente, you may want to reduce the cooking time by up to 30%. Divide the wontons between 3-4 bowls, then divide the noodles evenly. Top with the reserved minced scallions, then finally our the soup over each bowl of wonton noodles.

Serve immediately.