I moved to Brooklyn, NY when I was seven years old. Up in till that time, I don't think I had ever eaten in a Chinese restaurant. The Brooklyn neighborhood I lived in had quite a few Chinese restaurants, although they were all “Cantonese” style. You just didn't find Sichuan or Hunan restaurants in Brooklyn yet (this being circa 1967-1975.) In my family, we would often eat-in or take-out Chinese food on Sundays for dinner, which was the night our housekeeper had off. I quickly became quite enamored with the food – Lobster Cantonese, Roast Pork Fried Rice, Egg Foo Young, Barbecued Spare Ribs and... Wonton Soup!
It seems like every Chinese restaurant serves Wonton Soup. But the Wonton Soup that was offered back in those early days was different from what you are served now. Wonton Soup consists of a broth, just about always a good Chinese-style chicken broth – something that even the most hole-in-the-wall establishment seems to do an excellent job of. To that are added the wontons, simple squares of dough wrapped around a small morsel of seasoned ground pork. And the soup that is served everywhere nowadays (at least in the New York area) pretty much ends with that. You might be lucky and and get a few rings of sliced scallion added, probably more for appearance then flavor. But in the old days, Wonton Soup was universally enhanced with at least two more ingredients: matchstick-size slices of succulent roast pork, and bits of a dark green leafy vegetable (to this day I am not certain what this was, but my best guess is that it was choy sum, a leafy vegetable related to mustard.)
Why was Wonton Soup universally simplified by every Chinese restaurant in NYC? What kind of conspiracy was behind this? And why does it even matter? Well, I for one truly miss the heartier Wonton Soup of my childhood! And I kind of wish that an innovative establishment would offer a 'special edition' Wonton Soup – I for one would be willing to pay a premium price for it!
By the middle of the '70's, word had come to Brooklyn of a new kind of Chinese restaurant that served a very delicious and spicy cuisine. My family and I discovered a place a bit away from where we lived, the Szechuan Omei on Ocean Avenue, that served this hot and spicy food from the Chinese province of Sichuan. I think it was probably myself who persuaded my father to pack us in the car and drive to this place to try it out. Well, it was a hit, and this new place entered into the restaurant rotation on Sunday evenings. We all loved dishes such as Shredded Beef Sichuan Style and Kung-Pao Chicken (with Peanuts.) And it quickly became my favorite place to eat. I think this new passion may have overshadowed the change that was occurring to the Wonton Soup I also loved. In time, I would take on the endeavor of learning to cook Chinese food, and the spicy savoriness of Sichuan was my primarily inspiration!