Wontons or Wantans - my kind of dumplings
One of my friends, YJ, recently moved to the same neighborhood and I had the privilege to learn some wonton-wrapping skills from her. She is one professional in wonton - so quick and precise in wrapping them. YJ insisted (and constantly reminded) I should not buy frozen wontons anymore (am I lucky?) since it's much much cheaper to make it at home, plus it's so easy (a breeze for her, but me?). Every time I go to her place and see her make wontons, I get a complimentary wonton lunch. Thanks, YJ. :)
A wonton is made with a thin square-ish pastry wrapper made of wheat flour, water, salt, and typically filled with savory minced meat. Though wonton (馄饨 pronounced húntun, in Mandarin) literally means "irregularly shaped dumpling", we made ours as regular-shaped "envelopes". Waiter, there is something in my DUMPLING, and this is it!
Wontons Dumplings
Starting from the fillings:
1. Vegetables
You can use Bok Choy, Bok Choy Sum or Chinese spinach- quickly blanch in boiling water, then drain away all excess water (make sure they are as dry as possible) and chop them very finely
Bok Choy or Bok Choy Sum can be a choice of vegetables to use. This is not fine enough -need to be chopped more finely. Chinese spinach can be another alternative. They need to be as finely chopped as this.
2. Chicken, Pork, or Prawns
Mince them finely with cleaver or food processor (Note: Do not mince the prawns in the food processor as it will introduce a lot of moisture). Add the finely chopped vegetables to the meat/prawns.
3. Seasonings
Add some sesame oil, dashes of pepper. If pork or chicken is used, you can use some (dashes of) Chinese cooking wine as part of seasonings. Mix all the ingredients (1)-(3) thoroughly.
4. Use thin wonton wraps and make "envelope" like these. Aren't they cute and dainty?
Does this remind you of traditional Chinese gold ingots (金元宝, pronounced jin yuan bao) ?
If I could only get as close to these when I see the real Chinese gold ingots, I will be rich!
5. If not to be used immediately, place them in aluminum foil and place in freezer to store(up to 2 weeks). When ready to eat, boil a pot of water or chicken broth, when water or broth come to a boil, add in wontons and wait for them to re-boil. Add in some more water/broth, and once wontons boil the second time, they are fully cooked(wrinkled) and ready to be eaten, in soup/broth.
The boiled dumplings or wontons look like "swallowing clouds", thus also the name 云吞 (pronounced, yun tun). They were scooped out just for you to see. Now, they should return to the broth and into my stomach. :P~~~
Side note: Chinese dumpling (饺子, pronounced jiao zi) should not be confused with wontons since the former has a thicker skin and usually eaten with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce. Wontons are usually served in broth.
Previous entries:
Waiter, there's something in my...bread
Waiter, there's something in my...easter basket
Tag: wontons, wantans, dumpling, savory dumpling
31 comments:
Heh, speaking of frozen won tons, we always buy them because I'm too lazy to make them from scratch. Plus my won ton wrapping skills are lacking.
I should really try though, if I want to call myself a foodie and all.
My hubby makes a quick won ton soup out of frozen won tons by boiling them in chicken stock, adding kimchi and there you go. Dinner! It's really quite good too.
Looks delicious. I usually add some chopped water chestnuts to mine, as it gives a little crunch. Try it!
I don't mean to be rude or suggestive but I usually buy mine from the wanton lady. The wantons, that is, and not any other goods and services. :P
I love wontons but I only like the real transluscent skin wontons like the one in your photos.
Do they freeze well??
your these wontons look very wrinkled and bent means very rich issit ? Or can curve inside to release full flavor when swallowed
Homemade wontons always taste so much better. Yours looks yummy. I like mind with chives.
woah..I love those slightly fried dumplings man...oh man I am hungry..
Me loves it when my Mom makes it... I prefer them fried and my nephew and nieces too! I'm not too shy to fight over them though I'm their uncle! LOL
I love your wontons! They look so uniform, wrapped like ingots. Bravo! I usually add carrots in mine for some orange with the green.:)
fascinating how similar to tortelloni they look before they're cooked! i could never do that, especially not the pastry. good on you, though, and how delicious they look... mmmh! thanks for your entry.
Yummy yummy, you wontons look so good! I have yet to make wontons with green yet, should give this a try.
I like the way you fold your wontons too, how to fold huh? I fold mine like gold ingot too but different folding method and look.
Your wonton looks simply delicious. I have never made any before ... but I did tried making jiazi once but didn't turn out good at all.
How did you wrap them so perfectly? I'm hungry for wantans now! I have to keep reminding myself to not read your blog before making dinner! ;-)
Annie makes some good wantans as well as jiaozi at home. Don't have the skillz at rolling our own skins though; those still have to buy from the store.
The best skins we had were from the Yuen Hop Noodle Factory in Oakland. So fresh and springy! Do you know anyplace in the South Bay can get fresh skins?
Yum! Your wontons look very healthy with all the vegetable mixed in. You'll get your daily servings of green vege in your diet. :)
~ Mina
is it a sin to freeze the freshly made wontons?
pple like me will be too lazy to make it when i want to eat it, but making a big batch and freezing it will be an option.
i have a vacuum pack of skin in my fridge, it has been there for some time, but I have not done anything yet.
(secretly waiting for mummy to visit, then ask her to make for me... haha....)
Hey tiger,
Your wantons are folded beautifully, resembling gold ingots. Need skills leh. Must taste wonderful too. mmmm.....
I tried to make it for my man once, but it wasn't successful as I didn't put enough seasoning. Anyway, good wrapping thou!
delicate fingers with creative skills hehehe..I need to learn how to wrap wontons like that, teach me, quick ! :)
jadedone, I'm still learning too :) I'm "guilty" of frozen wontons and jiaozi too, for a quick dinner. But now that I've learnt how to make them, I can make batches and freeze them for later use :p
stay@home mum, chopped water chestnuts should be more "localized" to the homecooks? ;D ...but I like that crunch.
victor, wonton+wantan =wanton? :O
ming merciless, they do freeze quite well, err...up to 2 wks?
team bsg, wah...you described so well. But have to bite lah, cannot swallow just like that :O ...hahah!
precious pea,din make "chive" flavor this time. Next time, next time! :)
Your wontons look perfect! I'd love to have a bowl right now. Slurp slurp! Yummy!
how pretty! i love how the green os just busting out i can just imagine how delicious they would be floating in broth. will you come stock my freezer too?
Pretty wantans! I have always preferred the less meaty version. More vege bits!
jason, you mean gyoza or wo tie? Yummy. In my to-try list, maybe.
kenny,see...you are still a "kid" too (young) - you like "fried" stuff...wahahah!
east meets west kitchen, sounds colorful!
thepassionatecook, thks for hosting! I don't think I could do the doughy-thingy too :(
little corner of mine, it's got a bit of "technique" there to fold like ingots. Maybe can do a short video next time and post it :D
the cooking ninja, I cheated with store-bought wonton "skins"...I would have failed in anything that involves kneading :O
wokandspoon, no no...you must come and read! Then you can feel hungrier for dinner ;p
nate 2.0, ok...my next task is to look for fresh skins! :D
hakka house, oh yes- that was what my friend said - a bowl/soup of 20 wontons would make a satisfying dinner.
KM, no lah- if yes, I just committed a sin too !! :O
I also make batches then freeze them - more efficient mah! So lazy pple tend to be more efficient? LOL!
ECL, I desperately need to eat some gold ingots man!
windy, oh yes, seasoning is quite critical or it will be tasteless. We started out with seasonings more conservatively -->folded four- boil them-taste them-and adjust seasonings accordingly again (if too bland)
MW, can you decode how they are folded by looking at them here?
amy, I've just had another bowl for lunch today :) exchange some with your egg dumplings.
aria, my pleasure :)
wmw, me too! The veg add more sweetness to the fillings as well.
Beautiful wontons! I do a version with a broccoli and ground chicken filling, sometimes seasoned with a bit of curry along with the soy or oyster sauce. I freeze them on a cookie sheet, then transfer to plastic bags -- the same way you freeze berries, so they don't stick together. Then, when I want to eat them, I just pop them directly in hot chicken broth. Oh so good!
wow... yr wanton is a healthy version .... harldy find in market.. better register it!
lydia, I will try my fillings with broccoli next time. I freeze them in aluminum foil, then when I want to eat, I pop/boil them in chicken broth too. I have to agree with you...it's SOoooo Gooood!
jackson, I think these fillings are not very unique, just not as common as pork and leek, pork and cabbage etc. So cannot register...:(
Your wontons are folded so neatly!
yuzu, thanks! :D
I need to thank my friend for teaching me.
Post a Comment