Wonton is a popular Chinese food where some sort of protein is wrapped in a thin square dough made of flour, egg, water and salt. Fear not, wonton wrappers are readily available in most markets as well as Asian supermarket (for Western countries).
Last Saturday, I had a random urge for fried wonton! Yummmm.... Ooh that crispy fried wonton skin and its succulent meat filling. Then, the idea came to me, "Why not make my own just for the fun?"
Now, I pose the question to you readers, "Why not spend few hours with your spouse/partner/children/sibling/any-fun-person together and make your own delicious cute little wonton?" It's really fun I assure you! :)
Wokie, some simple ingredients and quick steps on how to make this little gems.
Ingredients:
500g grounded thigh pork meat
2 packs of fresh wonton wrappers (approx 40pcs/pack)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp chicken stock
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp sesame oil
salt to taste
Cooking oil (for frying)
Small bowl of water (for sticking the wonton wrapper)
Optional:
1 whole garlic bulb
Spring onion
Green vegetable
5 tbsp cooking oil
Soya sauce
1. Marinate the protein with the flavoring elements; chicken stock, pepper, salt, sesame oil and binding agent; cornflour for couple of minutes. I think mine was marinated for 10 minutes or sort cause we were to eager to eat. :p
2. Have a comfortable chair, sit down and start the slow yet therapeutic process of wonton wrapping.
3. Put a dollop of pork on the center of the wonton wrapper and line the edges with water.
4. Gently fold the filled wonton into half to make a rectangle shape. Slightly press the edges to ensure proper sealant.
5. Slightly wet the opposite ends of the pressed edge then gently twist and connect the two ends to make the gold ingot shape. Oppsie, I missed taking some photos on this crucial step.
6. Make enough wonton to feed the hungry people! Here, we made sufficient amount to feed 5 hungry big eaters for lunch.
7. Heat the cooking oil until bubbly which indicating sufficient temperature for frying. Put a couple of wonton with adequate spacings for the wonton to drift around without sticking to each other. Fry until golden brown. Not dark brown cause that's overcook and the skin would taste burnt and too crunchy.
8. If you prefer non-fried wonton, it's great to prepare dried wonton (or even the clear soup version).
9. Make garlic flavored oil by mincing the garlic and slow fry it in cooking oil until it's crispy and aromatic. Separate the garlic from the oil.
10. Boil a pot of water until fiercely bubbling and drop the wonton in for a couple of minutes until skin is translucent and filling is cooked.
11. Drizzle on the cooked wonton with 1 tsp of garlic infused oil and few drops of soya sauce. Mix around and serve with sprinkle of chopped spring onions, fried garlic and blanched green vegetables.
12. Dig in to your well deserved wonton prizes! :)
Tips:
1. Protein can be substitute with chicken thigh meat for the Halal version, or even mixture of pork/chicken with shrimp for a more springy filling.
2. After
cooking, we found that the amount of meat we used on each wonton was too
much as we ended with really 'fat' yummy wonton. Rest assured that no
harm was done though. So, if you prefer the typical wonton size served
outside, do reduce the amount of meat by half per wonton.
3. The garlic infused oil can be made in bigger portion and keep in the fridge for use in future dishes, eg. aglio e olio (though usually olive oil is used) or for quick flavoring when stir frying.
4. The fried wonton can be eaten with Thai chilli dipping sauce/ketchup or soaked momentarily in clear soup for the crunchy yet moist effect. The latter is my favorite way of eating.
I have another idea for this dish after a fellow friend suggested to put pumpkins on top of the gold ingots to represent the flowing of gold coins and treasure. So, stay tune for a different version of this dish.
Till then, happy cooking and stay cheerful! *hugs*
