How to Make Wontons

The humble wonton is a common dish served in many Chinese restaurants. Some people think of wontons whenever “Chinese food” is mentioned, whether it’s steamed or fried on its own, or used as an ingredient on soups and broths. You need to go to pricey Chinese and Oriental restaurants to have a taste of authentic wontons. Here’s a simple recipe for wontons that you can try out for yourself.

What are Wontons?

Wontons are part of a group of recipes that originated from China called dim sum (For more information on China, read Glimpse into Great China). Wontons are a type of dumpling usually filled with a mixture of meat and seafood with a savory flavor, wrapped in a square-shaped wrapper. Wontons are usually served with soup, noodles, and vegetables as part of wonton noodle soup. Wontons can also be deep-fried as a snack, or steamed as part of a platter of dim sum or siu mei. The dumplings can sometimes be steamed or boiled, and fried in oil and a small amount of richly-flavored broth to create potstickers.
Like many dishes associated with Chinese cooking, there are many variations on wontons. The most common variation to the wonton recipe is a filling made from pork, shrimp, onions, and carrots wrapped in a wonton wrapper. Other ingredients may be added to the filling to suit the preferences of a cook or a diner.

Ingredients

Here are some ingredients you may use to fill a wonton wrapper:

• Minced pork
• Baby shrimps, or uncooked prawns coarsely chopped.
• Grated ginger root
• Minced onion
• Thinly-sliced garlic cloves
• Minced carrots and bok choy
• Chinese five-spice powder (optional)
• Salt and pepper

Steps

To prepare wontons, follow these steps:

1. Mix the filling ingredients together in a clean plastic bowl.
2. Take a small amount of the filling and place it on the center of the wonton wrapper. It would help to shape the filling into a ball to give a uniform, even shape to the dumpling.
3. Moisten the edges of the wonton wrapper with water, or a beaten egg.
4. Fold the wonton into a triangle, and fold the two bottom edges together so that they meet and overlap each other.
5. From here, you can cook the wontons. A favored way to cook wontons is to boil and simmer them with chicken noodle or beef noodle soup, but you can also try to fry them to add texture to the wonton wrappers.

Wontons can be served for and with any meal of the day, and prepared in such a way to suit your personal tastes. With these steps, you can create a delectable dish of wontons for you and your dinner guests to enjoy. After learning creating wontons, time for you to know how to cook dumplings.