Need dinner in a hurry? Meet Photon Soup!  Wontons float in a fragrant Vietnamese Pho broth, made in just 15 minutes flat! This lifesaving soup is nourishing, healthy and warming and super speedy. Video!

PHOTON SOUP! Vietnamese Pho meets Wonton Soup - a fast and flavorful soup can be made in 15 minutes flat! Healing, nourishing and flavorful. | #pho #wontonsoup #wontons #soup #phosoup www.feastingathome.com

I’ve been holding out on you. 😉

For the past few winters, I’ve been making this soup on nights when I’m feeling especially tired, worn out, hungry and in need of bone-warming sustenance in a great big hurry.  It’s a cross between Vietnamese Pho and Wonton Soup, hence the name, but what’s most extraordinary about this is … it can be made in 15 minutes flat. Try it!

What I love most about the Photon Soup is the flavorful, yet effortless broth. Chinese Five Spice gives the soup its flavor. Vietnam and China are neighbors and while visiting, it was impossible not to notice how their flavors would overlap, and how Five Spice was often used in Vietnamese cooking.

The Vietnamese Pho style broth is radically and unapologetically simplified for the sole purpose of speed. Call me shallow if you like. 😉 But you’ll find the simple broth has unexpected depth, all things considered. The wontons, admittedly, are store-bought, but true lifesavers during hunger emergencies, and I always try to have some in the freezer for backup.

Lightning Speed Photon Soup | 60-second video

PHOTON SOUP! Vietnamese Pho meets Wonton Soup - a fast and flavorful soup can be made in 15 minutes flat! Healing, nourishing and flavorful. | #pho #wontonsoup #wontons #soup #phosoup www.feastingathome.com

What Wontons to use:

Homemade: Now of course you could make homemade wontons, with whatever filling you like and keep them in zip locks in the freezer, all ready to use. But that wouldn’t be Lightning Speed Photon Soup, would it? Your call!

Store-bought: Trader Joe’s has mini wontons which are little bite-sized versions, perfect for soup. They also have shrimp wontons, which I’m in love with. Asian markets have many varieties, including good vegetarian versions, so find one you like and stock it, because if you are like me, once you have this soup, you will crave it.

 

PHOTON SOUP! Vietnamese Pho meets Wonton Soup - a fast and flavorful soup can be made in 15 minutes flat! Healing, nourishing and flavorful. | #pho #wontonsoup #wontons #soup #phosoup www.feastingathome.com

What stock to use:

Homemade: You can also make your own stock and freeze in quart-size mason jars, thawing as necessary. Beef, chicken or vegetable will work here.

Store-bought: Seek out organic stock or bone broth- beef has great flavor here, paired with the Chinese 5 Spice but veggie broth will work too!

The Key Ingredient:

Chinese Five Spice! Use store-bought or make your own Five Spice here!

Wonton Soup Meets Pho! a cross between Vietnamese Pho and Wonton Soup that can be made in 15 minutes flat! Healing, nourishing and flavorful. | www.feastingathome.com

The Toppings:

Fresh jalapeño slices, basil, scallions, lime wedges and bean sprouts dress the soup when it’s done. But know that the soup is also pretty good without this, and often during a hunger crisis,  if these ingredients are not in the house, I make the soup anyway, with just the wontons, broth, chili sauce and lime, and call it good.

However, the toppings do seem to bring it to the next level.

Variations:

You can improvise quite a bit here, adding mushrooms, greens, shredded cabbage, shredded Brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, or most any veggie to the soup as long as your soup base is flavorful and balanced. I often add a few heaping handfuls of chopped arugula, spinach or baby kale to “up” the nutrient level at the very end. (I call this having my salad in my soup.)

Give me a brothy soup any day of the week, and I’m content. Restoring, healing, and filling without being overly high in calories, my body feels nourished after eating this.

Have a happy weekend!

 

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Wonton Soup with Pho Broth

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 18 reviews

Description

Vietnamese Pho meets Wonton Soup  (aka photon soup) a fast and flavorful soup can be made in 15 minutes flat! Healing, nourishing and flavorful.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 cups beef, chicken or veggie broth
  • 45 thin slices ginger (OK to leave peel on)
  • 12 rough chopped garlic cloves (optional)
  • 45 Scallions, sliced, divided into white parts and green parts (or sub very thinly sliced onion)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper
  • 1214 mini wontons (or to your preference)
  • 2 cups greens – optional ( chopped kale, bok choy, arugula, mizuna)
  • Splash soy sauce
  • Splash fish sauce
  • generous pinch sugar
  • Garnishes: bean sprouts, lime wedges, jalapeno slices, fresh basil or cilantro, chopped greens, sriracha, hoisin sauce, sesame oil.

Instructions

  1. Place stock, ginger, garlic, scallions (white parts only) 5 Spice, pepper into a medium pot and bring to a boil.
  2. Add frozen wontons and return to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes or according to directions on the package (perhaps longer for bigger ones). Add greens (optional) When wontons float, they should be done.
  3. Add the green scallions, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar.
  4. Taste for salt. Adjust. The broth should taste flavorful and have depth, so adjust with soy sauce,fish sauce or salt, as necessary.
  5. Ladle into two large bowls and top with fresh bean spouts, a handful of herbs, thinly sliced jalapeño peppers. Stir in sriracha sauce and hoisin to taste.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 big bowl
  • Calories: 219
  • Sugar: 10.6 g
  • Sodium: 431.9 mg
  • Fat: 5.6 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 34.2 g
  • Fiber: 9.1 g
  • Protein: 13.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 14.8 mg

PHOTON SOUP! Vietnamese Pho meets Wonton Soup - a fast and flavorful soup can be made in 15 minutes flat! Healing, nourishing and flavorful. | #pho #wontonsoup #wontons #soup #phosoup www.feastingathome.com

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Comments

  1. Thanks again Sylvia! I’ve used your recipe a handful of times now as a starting place for that ‘pho’ taste I wasn’t sure how to approximate before. Great easy recipe as you have it, but also fun to play around with. Making it tonight with turkey stock from Thanksgiving (getting a little tired of the Thanksgiving standard fare) with Vietnamese meatballs and lots of veg. You always inspire!






  2. I really love all the recipes on your site, but really dislike all the advert boxes that appear .. is there anyway I can view without them?.. it really doesn’t add anything to your delicious food.

  3. I made this for Lunar New Year. Who knew that Chinese Five Spice could make such a flavorful broth! I added Pho rice stick noodles and spinach because I had them on hand. Next time I will play with the broth a bit more by adding adjustments of fish sauce, soy sauce, and hoisin. I’m thrilled to add this to our family’s go-to recipes.






  4. This was so yummy and easy. I love soups for lunch and this one went together very quickly. I added frozen Asian pork meatballs because I had some in the freezer, very healthy and comforting for a fall lunch.






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