Won Ton Soup formula changed

[RawPower]

From the '50s-80s or so... Won Ton Soup all around San Francisco always had the nutty Toasted Sesame oil included as a flavoring in the dumplings and or soup broth. I can no longer find a common restaurant that has this anymore and i must bring my own to add. I have not checked out high end Chinese Restaurants to see if they maintain this flavoring. Is this because the old timer chefs did not pass on this or is it the high cost of Toasted Sesame oil? If so, they are losing sales by leaving it out! Cannot find any decent Li Hing Mui preserved plums ...great Chinatown formulas sold by pound from big jars lost forever.

[Shelley]

It might be because there are people with allergies to sesame oil. Peanuts and other nuts, sesame and poppy seeds are also not being used because of allergies.

 

This is just an idea from me and I have no evidence that this is the case, but it is possible.

 

I think this kind of thing is happening all over the world with all kinds of local cuisines, health and safety and cost may have something to do with it.

[jbradfor]

Ah, wonton noodle soup in SF ... so yummy.  I have very fond memories of eating here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/won-ton-house-san-francisco

 

But no, no answer for you.  You have now made me scared to go back here, it might not be as good as I remember.  I will remember to bring my own oil.

[RawPower]

No way it is a nut allergy. Seeds man.

 

Trouble is ..maybe..the OLD FOLK cook and recipe makers had too much EGO and did not care to pass on key formulas... so now all these WON TON soups never have that MAGIC toasted sesame oil taste and Wor WonTon thick ingredients with less soup that the Great Wing Lee had on Polk Street in SF. Also he browned his chow mein a bit adding flavor...these old timers knew how to cook.

 

Wing Lee sold the newly remodeled restaurant but they changed the food ..not copying AND the dummies always kept the FRONT AND BACK DOOR OPEN FREEZING ALL PATRONS OUT in the NAME OF FENG SHUI or some such superstition to invite in people! They never turned on the heat or lights and then complained when bankruptcy came about their woes in sign on store. HOW ABOUT TAKING SOME TIPS FROM PATRONS and STOP BEING STUPID. No MY WAY OR HIGHWAY. JEEZE.  

 

Raised with Nam Yeng Restaurant on North side of Washington Square?..bad spelling prob... in the '50s-60s at Washington Square was great as kids .. I was voted School President at Hancock Grammar school by my mostly Chinese students in '63. So I know and lived in NB/Chinatown.

 

Nam Yueng storefront oddly abandoned for decades with same old '50's stone pebble facade..no reopening always wasted building.

[RawPower]

Hey .I will Check out Won Ton House..but I fear..no toasted sesame flavor in dumplings. Will see.

[ChTTay]

Why not just ask the restaurant and shops?

[Shelley]

Have a look at these 2 places about sesame seed allergy, this is just 2 out of loads.

 

http://www.allergyuk.org/sesame-and-other-seeds/sesame-and-other-seeds?cookieaccept=true

 

http://www.everydayhealth.com/allergies/what-to-know-about-sesame-seed-allergies.aspx

 

 

[abcdefg]

#1 -- @RawPower --

 

From the '50s-80s or so... Won Ton Soup all around San Francisco always had the nutty Toasted Sesame oil included as a flavoring in the dumplings and or soup broth. I can no longer find a common restaurant that has this anymore and i must bring my own to add...Is this because the old timer chefs did not pass on this or is it the high cost of Toasted Sesame oil?

 

I can answer part of this for you first hand, specifically the part about cost.

 

In Kunming I regularly buy sesame oil 芝麻油 that is freshly ground right on the premises at an open-front stand in a wet market near where I live. A small bottle of light-colored sesame oil made from the white, non-toasted seeds costs 10 Yuan. Looks to be about 6 ounces.

 

Same size bottle of the dark-colored oil made from the toasted seeds costs 12 Yuan. Supposedly it costs a little more because of the extra toasting step required before the grinding. They sometimes burn a batch and must discard it.

 

I always chat with the proprietors/manufacturers (an old man and his wife) about one thing or another and have photographed the process. Have found the whole business fascinating because it's one of those "hand made" things that has become almost obsolete in the US due in part to health and safety regulations.

 

Once I asked them about sales. They said they sell twice as much of the "white" oil (that's the term they use 白）as they do of the "black" oil (they call it 黑）。I asked if it has always been that way and they said no, it's a recent change over about the last 5 years. They further told me most of their old customers still bought the toasted (dark/黑) whereas most of their young customers bought the un-toasted (white/ 白) kind.

 

I buy both. Love the toasted kind in hot soups and the untoasted kind in salads and cold dishes 凉拌 such as 拍黄瓜 (crushed cucumber.) Use them a lot in my humble home kitchen.

 

In summary, I doubt that the cost difference between the two kinds is why the restaurant you like has stopped using it.