Wonton Wantonness

I’ve had a request from someone to post the wonton recipes I have laying around. Bear in mind that these are not my recipes nor have I tried them. So if you try them, you do so at your own risk, but please leave a comment and let me know how it goes. Notes by me are displayed as italicized and slightly purple

To get us started, please enjoy the following passage from The Chinese Cookbook published in 1952 (Crown Publishers) by Wallace Yee Hong:

“Won-ton (sic) is one of the most popular dishes in China, and is usually eaten at luncheon or late supper. It is very similar to Italian ravioli and Jewish kreplach. Its skin, which is made of flour, eggs, and salt, can be made at home or purchased in Chinatown or at any Chinese noodle factory by the pound. Each skin is about 6 or 8 inches square, and each pound contains about 18 or 20 skins. As with the home-made skins, they may be cut in quarters for won-tons or used whole for egg rolls.

The won-ton, or egg roll, skin is extremely versatile and, in Chinese cooking or adapted to American cooking, adds a delightful touch to any meal. Its uses are unlimited. For the explorer in culinary art, the use of the won-ton skins lends an element of surprise, and is a delight to the sign, smell and, above all, to the taste. This dinner table pleasure cannot be described, it must e experienced.”

I’ve chosen a variety of recipes to post, some of which are very interesting. I hope you enjoy them and, as always, let me know how it goes for you. Recipes after the jump.

Chorizo Sausage and Manchego Wontons
From Cooking With Paula Deen: November/December 2006, p. 75

Wontons may be made up to 2 weeks ahead, cooked, and frozen, in a single layer on baking sheets. Remove to resealable plastic bags after freezing. Place frozen wontons on baking sheets, and bake at 350 degrees F until crisp (about 10 to 15 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 (12-ounce) package chorizo sausage, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup shredded manchego cheese
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 50 wonton wrappers
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Ancho Chili Sauce (used for dipping, ibid. p. 73)

In a medium skillet, combine sausage, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium heat until sausage is browned and crumbled. Stir in cream cheese, manchego cheese, and lime juice until combined.

Place 1 tsp of sausage mixture in center of each wonton wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper with water. Bring corners together, pressing to seal.

In a dutch oven, pour oil to a depth of two inches and heat to 350 degrees F. Fry wontons in batches until golden, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Holy crap, a recipe by Paula Deen that doesn’t call for 8 sticks of butter. It’s a miracle!

Won-Ton (or Egg Roll) Skin (Won-Ton Pe)
From The Chinese Cookbook by Wallace Lee Hong, Crown Publishers, 1952 p. 36

Ingredients:

• 2 cubs flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup ice water

Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Add the salt and mix. Add the ice water and mix until dough is formed. Knead until firm and smooth. Lay dough on a board oor clean table and roll it until it is almost as thin as paper. Cut into 6 inch squares and stack them, making sure that each piece is well flours. Wrap in waxed paper and keep in refrigerator, no more than 2 weeks. The 6 inch squares may be used as egg roll skins; cut in half both ways, in 3 inch squares, 4 won-ton skins can be made out of each egg roll skin.

Won-Ton Meat Filling
From The Chinese Cookbook by Wallace Lee Hong, Crown Publishers, 1952 p. 36

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean raw pork, chopped very fine
• 1 tsp fresh scallions, chopped very fine with the pork
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 tsp seasoning powder (Note: I have no idea what this is, sorry guys! There’s no reference or entry in the book for it)
• 1/2 tsp stal and a dash of pepper

Mix the meat and scallions together. Add the eggs, seasoning powder, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. (If mixture is not to be used immediately, keep in a refrigerator.) To fill skin, proceed as follows. Using a small butter knife (wooden knife preferred), pick up about 1/2 tsp of meat (or fish) mixture and place on one corner of the won-ton skin. Roll almost to the opposite corner. Wet the left end with beaten egg, then bring right and left ends togther and press firmly so that they stick together. The usual serving is 12 to 15 won-tons per person.

I wish I had a wooden knife laying around. ^_^ Also, I would imagine you’d be able to use just about any meat you’d like here. Asian cooking uses a lot of minced pork in ways many Americans do not. I’m sure lean beef, lamb, chicken, or even vegetables would work nicely here.

Won-Ton Seafood Filling
From The Chinese Cookbook by Wallace Lee Hong, Crown Publishers, 1952 p. 36

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. fillet of any kind of fish, chopped very fine
• 1/2 lb. fresh shrimp (or dried shrimp), lobster or crab meat, chopped very fine
• 1 tbsp fresh scallions, chopped very fine
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 tsp salt and a sash of pepper

Mix chopped ingredients (fish, shrimp, lobster or crab meat, and scallions) together. Add the other ingredients and mix thoroughly. To fill skin, see the previous recipe.

Mmmm…looks tasty to me. I really like the idea of using lobster.

Fried Won-Ton
From The Chinese Cookbook by Wallace Lee Hong, Crown Publishers, 1952 p. 36

Prepare won-tons as instructed in the previous two recipes. Put about 3 inches of oil (or lard) in a large skillet or deep pan. Heat oil to boiling point. Fry won-tons until they float to surface, and turn until both sides are brown.

Serve hot–plain, with duck sauce or with sweet and sour sauce.

Note: Fried won-tons are generally used for breakfast, served with Congee, or late at night for a snack. The younger generation use them at cocktail parties, bridge or mah-jong parties, or whenever they entertain friends. They may also be used as appetizers.

I suppose we count as the younger generation eh? ^_^

Wonton Wrapped Prawns
From Homestyle Asian by Bay Books, 2008 p. 32

Prep time: 20 min + 20 min refrigeration | Total cooking time: 10 min | Makes 24

Ingredients:

• 24 raw prawns (shrimp)
• 1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
• 24 wonton wrappers (follow above recipe or use store bought)
• Oil, for deep-frying
• 125 ml (4 fl oz / 1/2 cup) sweet chili sauce (Available in nearly any grocery store in the Asian food aisle)
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Peel and devein the prawns, leaving the tails intact.

Mix the cornflour with 1 tsp water in a small bowl. Work with tone wonton wrapper at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp tea towel (dish towel) to prevent drying out. Fold a wrapper in half to form a triangle. Wrap a prawn in the wrapper, leaving the tail exposed. Seal at the end by brushing with a little of the cornflour mixture, then pressing gently. Spread the wrapped prawns on a baking tray, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Fill a deep heavy-based saucepan one-third full of oil and heat to 180°C (350° F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds. Cook the prawns in batches for 1 1/2 minutes each batch, or until crisp, golden and cooked through. The cooking time may vary depending on the size of the prawns. Check the time by cooking one prawn and testing it before continuing. Remove the prawns from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on crumpled paper towels.

Stir the sweet chili sauce and lime juice together in a small bowl. Serve with the prawns.

Now this one looks tasty! I can’t wait to try this one. Just you wait, I’ll have my weight companion bread cube ready to toss in that hot oil and you can bet I’ll have a stopwatch to make sure it’s 15 seconds of pure torture.

Crab Dumpling Soup
From Homestyle Asian by Bay Books, 2008 p. 32

Prep time: 25 min | Total cooking time: 20 min | Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 170g (6 oz) tin crabmeat, well drained (I never recommend using a tin or can for crab meat. *always* buy the stuff in the plastic vacuum containers or even the imitation crab sticks. It’s way better)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped spring onions (scallions)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp sesame oil (With sesame oil, brand makes a huge difference. If you can, get a “real” brand such as Shirakiku. Don’t use LaChoy or something cheap like Taste of Asia. The difference is night and day. Good sesame oil should be powerful and almost smokey smelling. If you can’t smell it from across the room, it’s not good.)
• 3 tsp chopped fresh ginger
• 12 small wonton wrappers (rounded)
• 3 spring onions (scallions), extra
• 1.25 litres (44 fl. oz/5 cups) chicken stock
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (Again, like the sesame oil, go with a real brand here. Avoid LaChoy or store brands. My personal favorite is Yamasa or Lee Kum Kee. I like them even more than Kikkoman, but please, spring for the real stuff over the others. LaChoy and store brands are too salty and not rich enough.)
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp sugar

To make the crab filling, mix the crab with the chopped spring onion, half the garlic, 1 tsp of sesame oil and 1 tsp of the ginger.

Place 2 tsp of the filling on one half of each wrapper. Moisten the edges with some water and fold over to form a crescent. Press the edges together firmly. Lay the dumplings on a lightly floured surface.

Cut the extra spring onions into thin strips and set aside. Heat the remaining sesame oil in a saucepan, add the remaining garlic and ginger and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the garlic is lightly golden. Add the stock, soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Bring to a boil, add the spring onion strips (reserving some to garnish) and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, add 3-4 dumplings at a time and cook for 5 minutes, or until just cooked. Place in bowls, ladle the stock over the dumplings, garnish with the spring onions strips and serve.

I know this technically isn’t a wonton recipe, but it’s using the wrappers mentioned in the first recipe. Also, I wanted it to be shown that not everything has to be fried.

Sweet Wontons
From The Essential Asian Cookbook by Bay Books, 2008 p. 292

Prep time: 15 min | Total cooking time: 20 min | Makes 30

Ingredients:

• 125g (4 oz) dates, pitted and chopped
• 2 bananas, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (45g/1.5 oz) flaked almonds, lightly crushed
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 60 wonton wrappers
• oil, for deep-frying
• icing sugar, to dust (Confectioners or powdered sugar)

Mix together the dates, bananas, almonds and cinnamon. Place 2 tsp of the fruit mixture into the center of a wonton wrapper, and brush the edges lightly with water. Place another wonton wrapper on top at an angle so that the wrappers make a star shape. Place the wontons on a tray lined with baking paper. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, taking care not to stack the wontons on top of each other or they will stick together.

Heat the oil in a large pan until moderately hot; add the wontons in small batches and deep-fry for 2 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Drain on paper towels. Dust the wontons lightly with the icing sugar before serving.

Methinks this could be delicious with a little drizzle of honey. I chose this because not many people use dates very often.

And, of course, there’s Crab Rangoon, which is what the person asking me to write this was after in the first place. Check out this recipe for Crab Rangoon from Recipezaar if that’s what you’re after. It has the highest rating/review ratio so it’s theoretically the best.

Let me know how these go for you and always, happy cooking!

-OjiChef