If there’s a dish that encapsulates the culinary branch of NOURISH, it’s wontons. A versatile and seasonal favorite, the holidays are the perfect time to sit with loved ones and make these simple wontons. We like to make them in bulk and freeze them for giving away or future use. They also make thoughtful holidays gifts if kept frozen. 

There’s no wrong way to make wontons. More complicated pleating takes practice but every shape is delicious from a simple half moon to more elaborate forms. This is a wonderful activity to do with children and family. Many Asian families have memories rooted around the kitchen tables making hundreds of dumplings.

We’re sharing our recipe for a classic filling but feel free to play around with flavors you enjoy. You can use miso in place of the soy sauce or tofu instead of meat. The filling is endlessly customizable as long as your filling holds in a wonton wrapper. A little cornstarch helps bind the flavors and prevents the filling from releasing too much water. If your filling is too sticky to spoon cleanly into your wonton wrapper, stick it in the freezer for about 20 minutes until it stiffens up slightly.

When pleating your wontons keep your wrappers in a damp paper towel so they don’t get dry and crack. No one likes an exploded wonton. Pleating can be done a number of ways so feel free to experiment as long as the amount of filling is consistent throughout. You don’t want half-cooked wontons. 

Once your wontons are assembled you can freeze them. They can be then boiled, steamed, or pan-fried. We like boiling them in simple soy and chicken stock broth with some green onions for sharpness and a chili sauce for spice. 

Wonton Recipe

Ingredients

• 200 grams ground chicken or pork
• 5 prawns, shells removed and deveined
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 bunch of garlic chives, finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger, finely grated
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon of sake
• 1/2  teaspoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• Dash of white pepper powder

Broth

• Chicken stock
• Soy sauce
• Spring onion
• Fried shallots

Steps

1. Mince the shrimps and in a bowl, mix it with the ground meat, spring onion, garlic chives, ginger, garlic, and all the condiments.
2. Use wonton wrappers and fill up the wantons.
3. When you’re ready to eat, boil a pot of water and cook the wontons for about 3 minutes in boiling water. Do not overcrowd the pot. If you’re cooking in a larger pot, you can cook the wontons for up to 4-5 minutes.
4. In a separate pot, boil your chicken broth and season it with soy sauce to taste.
5. In a bowl, add the cooked wontons and the chicken broth. And too with spring onions, finely sliced and fried shallots.
6. You can also serve the wontons without a broth and top it with spring onions, finely sliced, fried shallots and chili oil.