The Dish: Ellen Yin's family wonton recipe, the new High Street and her James Beard Award
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- After three previous nominations, Ellen Yin recently won her first James Beard Award for Best Restaurateur.
She always jokes that she's not a chef - and not even a home chef.
But as a restaurateur, she's always eating some of the best meals at her collection of Philly spots, from Fork to a.kitchen to High Street.
As it turns out, we were the first camera crews in the kitchen at the brand new location of High Street, which just opened its doors at the corner of 9th and Chestnut in Center City.
"The space feels so warm, and so like us," Yin says. "We're just really excited because it showcases what High Street has always been doing, which is really highlighting locale and highlighting bread."
At this new location, there's an expanded space where you can learn to make those baked goods that High Street is so famous for. There's also a private dining space.
All of this is part of a calling that came to Ellen as a teen.
"My whole story has been that in the restaurant space, I always felt this incredible sense of belonging," she says. "I walked into a French restaurant when I was 16, and they just embraced me. I didn't matter that I was Chinese. I always felt a little bit on the outside. Being part of this restaurant made me feel so much part of the family."
Over the past 26 years, Ellen has become a force in Philly's food scene.
This year, after three prior nominations for Best Restaurateur, she won her first James Beard Award.
"There were some major wins for Philadelphia, which just says even more so what a great food city Philadelphia is," she says.
Ellen Yin's Family Wonton Recipe
Click here for her full Wonton Project recipe.
Today she's cooking for us, teaching us something very near and dear to her: her mother's recipe for homemade wontons.
"This was one of my most favorite memories of growing up," Yin says. "Sitting around the table with my grandmother and other members of the family making dumplings or wontons."
There are two rules to Mrs. Yin's wontons: "The skin was always really thin, and the dumpling was always really juicy."
The filling is 2/3 pork, a mixture of lean and fatty meat to make sure it's nice and juicy. The other 1/3 is shrimp, and keep it course.
"My mother's from Shanghai and my father was from Hunan, so this is a mix of styles," Yin says. "My mother always used shrimp in her wontons."
Add to the meat some chopped up scallions and cabbage, diced and drained.
"I like to put in white pepper and salt, and then a little bit of sesame oil," she says. "A little goes a long way, so just about two tablespoons."
From there, add soy sauce.
"My mother only tells me by color," she says, saying you just have to eye it. Saturate the mixture until the meat goes from pink to red.
Grate some fresh ginger on top and it's time to wrap.
"The thing with these is that if you put too much, then they explode," she says. "If you put too little in, then they seem skimpy. You have to get it just right."
You need a little water at the edges of the wonton wrapper and then gather, fold, and press together tightly to seal the edges. Now, pop them into boiling water.
"My mother had a secret where she would basically boil the water, and then when they bubbled up to the top, she would add a little bit more cold water," Yin explains. "Once it bubbled again, then it was done. I can't explain how else to know when they're ready, but that's about it."
You can use any broth you like. Yin garnishes with some of those scallions she used earlier, and the ginger and sesame oil and white pepper. You can add a kick if you like, with something spicy.
Ellen makes these for The Wonton Project, her initiative that raises funds and awareness for Anti-Asian hate.
If you're making these at home, you can also freeze the mixture ahead of time and wrap and cook them when you need them.
Yin encourages you to use whatever you have in the kitchen in your mixture. You can either boil them, like we did, or fry them up. She loves the fried ones as passed hors d'oeuvres.
