Wontons
Published Jan. 18, 2023
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 12ounces peeled, deveined shrimp (any size)
- Coarse kosher or sea salt
- 1(½-inch) piece fresh ginger
- 8ounces ground pork
- 2scallions, finely chopped
- 2tablespoons cornstarch
- 1tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2teaspoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 2teaspoons soy sauce, preferably light (see Tip)
- 1teaspoon sesame oil
- 1teaspoon granulated sugar
- ⅛teaspoon ground white or black pepper
- 50 to 60wonton wrappers, preferably thin egg-based Hong Kong-style wrappers (see Tip)
Nutritional analysis per serving (56 servings)
110 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 209 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Coarsely chop the shrimp into ½-inch pieces, then toss with ½ teaspoon salt in a colander until evenly coated. Let stand while preparing the remaining filling ingredients. This will both flavor the shrimp and draw out the excess moisture so that they end up snappy in the cooked wontons.
- Step 2
Using a ginger grater or Microplane, finely grate 2 teaspoons ginger into a large bowl. Using your fingers, press the grated ginger to squeeze out 1 teaspoon ginger juice; discard the solids. Stir in the pork, scallions, cornstarch, oyster sauce, wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper and 1 teaspoon salt until evenly mixed. Using a paper towel, pat the shrimp very dry. Add to the pork and stir until evenly distributed.
- Step 3
Set up an assembly line for forming wontons by placing the bowl of filling next to the wrappers and a small dish of water and lining a sheet pan with parchment for the wrapped wontons. If a wrapper tears over the filling during assembly, it can be discarded.
- Step 4
To shape wontons for wonton soup: Place a heaping spoonful of filling near one corner of a wrapper. You want to try to get as much filling in there as possible, about a tablespoon, but you can start with a smaller amount for easier folding. Using your fingertip, wet the wrapper corner nearest the filling, then fold that corner over the filling to enclose it, pleating the wrapper around the filling and pressing that corner just past the center of the remaining wrapper. You should end up with a bump of enclosed filling and a pleated tail of wrapper. Place on the prepared pan and repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.
- Step 5
To shape wontons for deep-frying, place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Using your fingertip, wet the borders of the wrapper, then fold it in half to form a rectangle or a triangle, encasing the filling and making sure there are no air pockets around it. Take two corners on the long side and bring them together to meet in the center over the filling, using water if needed to make the corners stick and hold. Place on the prepared pan and repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.
- Step 6
Once you’ve filled all of the wontons, you can prepare as many as you’d like immediately, boiling them for soup or deep-frying for a snack. The rest can be frozen uncovered on the sheet tray until solid, about 2 hours. Transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Cook straight from the freezer, adding a few minutes of cooking time.
- Chinese light soy sauce isn’t the same as low- or less-sodium soy sauce. It’s lighter in color and also saltier. If using regular soy sauce, increase the amount to 1 tablespoon (and expect a slightly darker filling).
- Hong Kong-style wonton wrappers are distinguished by their small square shape, thinness and the addition of eggs to a flour-based dough. They’re sold in the refrigerated section of Chinese and other markets, and those options work great. If they’re not available nearby, they can be made at home with basic pantry ingredients using this recipe for Wonton Wrappers.
Private Notes
Comments
A video to show how to complete the folded over corner would be very helpful. I can’t quite see it.
There are a few videos and/ or step by step photo instructions out there. These are from cooking websites that I normally use: https://thewoksoflife.com/how-to-fold-wontons/ (Woks of Life) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrjFoOddNk8 (Hot Thai Kitchen) My tip is to find the easiest method for yourself since you'll be making 50 to 60 of these and it can be mind numbing. Better yet make this a family project. Kids in particular may find this memorable.
There are lots of videos: I liked this one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wUiwMOa-BI
This is such a fabulous recipe! The only thing I do differently is add ½t of grated ginger instead of the squeezing process. My tips for a great outcome are these: 1) don’t skimp on the pork…it’s the glue 2) when cutting the shrimp, err on the smaller size or the dumplings are more challenging to fold. 3) use round wrappers (try the freezer section of your grocer’s) instead of squares and use a wonton crimper. I line up 6 wrappers, wet the edges a little with a brush dipped in water. Next, I put a scoop of filling in the middle. Put the wrapper (with the filling centered) in the wonton maker and it seals it with a beautiful crimp. It makes the process so fast one person can do all those dumplings in no time at all. Easy peasy!
These were delicious and fun to make as a group dinner activity. I made the filling before and we all made the wontons together. They cooked up perfectly with that characteristic wrinkly skin. Two slight tweaks/notes: I just mixed in the microplaned ginger instead of ginger juice as my frozen ginger root was not juicy. And we used egg wash to seal the wontons. Amazingly not one of the 70 we made (I made 1.5 times the filling and it was the perfect amount for my package of Twin Marquis Hong Kong-style wonton wrappers) broke open when cooking!
My husband is from Hong Kong, and we make some with shrimp and pork and some with just ground pork (I don't eat seafood). We used ginger paste because we were out of fresh ginger, and we added a big bunch of finely chopped fresh cilantro and green onions (and soy and sesame oil, etc.). Customize flavors to your taste. They boil in about 4-6 minutes. Add chili crisp to your dish if you like it spicy!
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