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Watch My Video: How to Make and Wrap Wontons
Small Bite with Big Flavor
Wonton is a type of Chinese dumpling. They come in small parcels and are available in many forms: steamed, deep-fried or in wonton soup.
What is inside of a wonton? The inside contains a savory meat or seafood filling and a special yellow color and rectangle wrapper wraps the filling inside a wonton. The yellow color comes from egg yolk as wonton wrappers do contain eggs.
Wontons Vs Dumplings
Many people are wondering what is the difference between a wonton and a dumpling? Simply put, wontons are dumplings. They are under the big umbrella of Chinese dumplings and they are a subset of dumplings.
What Is Fried Wonton?
Fried wontons are deep-fried to golden brown and popular in the Chinese restaurants here in the United States.
They are an appetizer and come with a pinkish-red Chinese sweet and sour dipping sauce. Everyone loves them because they are so crispy, delicious and the sweet and sour sauce makes them even more appetizing. Once you start eating, you just can’t stop!
My wontons recipe is very easy take less than 30 minutes to make at home. First of all, you make the filling. My recipe calls for a shrimp with ground pork filling. I added some water chestnuts for an extra crunch and texture.
You can also use chicken or turkey as the filling. You may add in some shrimp, scallop or crab if you like.
Next, you need to learn the basic technique of how to wrap Chinese dumplings by watching the video above. To deep-fry, make sure you use a neutral cooking oil such as vegetable oil. After deep-frying, make sure you drain the excess oil with paper towels.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 311 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
This meal is best served as an appetizer. For a wholesome Chinese meal at home, I recommend the following recipes.
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Fried Wontons Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. (250g) ground pork, chicken or turkey
- 1/4 lb. (115g) shrimp, chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce or fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 dashes ground white pepper
- 1 pack store-bought wonton wrappers
- water (for sealing)
- vegetable oil (for deep frying)
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the ground pork, shrimp, soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper together. Stir to combine well to form a sticky filling.
- To wrap the wontons, lay a piece of the wonton wrapper on your palm and add 1/2 tablespoon of the filling in the middle of the wrapper. (Use 1 teaspoon filling if you are a beginner.) Dip your index finger into the sealing water and trace it on the outer edges of the wonton wrapper.
- You can wrap the wontons three ways. To make a triangle, just fold it up to form a triangle. Pinch the edges to seal tight. To make them into the pretty shape (far left in the above picture), just pull the two corners of the triangle down so one overlaps the other, pinch and seal with water.
- To make them into Hong Kong style wonton (far right in the above picture), please watch my video at the top of this post.
- Heat up some oil for deep-frying. Once the oil is fully heated, deep fry the wontons until golden brown. Drain the excess oil with paper towels. Serve hot with Chinese sweet and sour sauce or Thai sweet chili sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
You wrap those dumplings, girl!
– Chubbypanda
Some dim sum restaurants offer mayo to go with fried wontons but I think this kills the original taste.
With water chestnuts in the wontons, they taste wonderfully sweet and crunchy. I like my wontons this way.
If they are boiled, including a fresh prawn in each wonton increases one’s enjoyment to a fantastic level.
these small things r a favourite in many pubs here in KL
Min – I think Rowland Heights restaurant are new and quite clean. Did you have bad experience there before?
Penang in West Covina used to be very good, but now they changed their chef and owners so many times, it’s no longer good. Their Assam Laksa is the worst, like Chicken noodle soup.
Rowland Heights? Arrghh… I am not very picky in food, but I am kinda picky when it comes to hygiene. Chinese restaurants over there ain’t too good in LA County ratings.
If you wanna rate some Malaysian cuisine near by, I am not sure if you heard of “Penang” in West Covina. Not too bad but don’t bet on their Asam Laksa, it is horrible.
Hi Min – thanks for your comment. Pomona is not too far away from Irvine, but I guess there is not a lot of Asian food there…you can always go to Rowland Heights, which isn’t too far away from Pomona.
Good luck.
OMG! You really did bring the best out of Malaysian’s food.
I am surprised that you are in Irvine as I am in Pomona (if you heard of it).
Thanks for the tips and recepi.Your foods did bring my taste buds back to where I should belong..
TehSee – Mayo only works for shrimp wontons in my opinion.
Paati – I checked out your blog and your biryani looks killer. Gotta try that but with chicken.
WMW – Absolutely, they are the best snacks.
Mae – Your tiger shrimp wontons look very succulent. I still have some wonton skins left…
Tigerfish – thanks! I am an amateur and wannabe. ;)
Elmomonster – terima kasih banyak banyak!
Pwee – that’s exactly my intention or what I hope for–luring people to go to Malaysia via my food pictures. It’s Visit Malaysia Year 2007 soon so Malaysians and tourists alike should go. :)
Simcooks – thanks!
Very pretty wontons! Looks yummy too!
oh man, looking at your blog makes me wanna buy a ticket for the next flight home to eat some delicious food. lol
i was born and raised in penang too. and i miss penang food terribly. i like your featured posts on penang hawker food. now i want some char kuey teow, and oh chian, and ikan panggang, and and nasi lemak, and muar chi and cendol and…;)