Wanna Wonton? Fried Wontons and Wonton Soup.

Fried Wontons with sweet and sour sauce

I love Chinese food. Somehow I have convinced myself it's healthy, even though it's usually full of carbs and MSG. All those green onions and all that ginger... can't be bad for you right? Please ignore the salt in the soy sauce or the cholesterol in the pork.... Anyway, for a while now, I have been on this quest to make authentic Chinese food with only ingredients found at Safeway. Not exactly easy. I found this recipe on Pinterest (here) and it actually was pretty easy, and pretty authentic to my Western taste buds.

No weird ingredients here!

Unfortunately, it's labor intensive. Time to recruit your favorite significant other or child. Make it a game! Who can wrap up the most wontons in the next 30 minutes? Loser has to do dishes! Fortunately you have me to give you the skinny on the best way to wrap wontons, so you obviously won't have to do the dishes.

The key is to not stuff them too much. Two teaspoons, and no more. It is IMPERATIVE that you do not let the stuffing touch the edges. They won't seal if you do. Follow the steps to a tee and soon you will have some tasty wonton soup and a pile of dishes you won't have to do.

1) Wet two edges. 2) Fold in a triangle. 3) Fold in the corners. 4) Fold down the top. 5) Marvel at the fruits of your labor.

Okay so now you have a bunch of wontons. At this point, you have some (really tasty) options. Option 1 is to make Wonton Soup. Awesome soup, pretty easy, slightly difficult to eat. Seriously, have you tried to eat Wonton Soup with a spoon? A wonton always sneaks out and splashes down, throwing soy sauce and broth into your lap and staining your clothes. Try to use chopsticks, and you leave the tasty broth behind. I find that a combo spoon-chopstick approach is best, but I'll leave you to your own devices to figure it out. Still, I love Wonton Soup and it is wonderful no matter the difficulties I have with eating it.

Watch out for flying oil!

Now on to your second option. Fry your wontons. These wontons are far easier to eat, and open up the possibility of amazing dips and sauces. The issues with these is the necessity of hot oil, and my propensity to burn myself. This blog is the "Tiny Kitchen Adventures," not the "Adequately-Sized Kitchen Adventures" so that means I don't have room for extras like, say, an oil screen, subjecting myself to popping oil and painful burns. If you have an oil screen, please, please, please use it for this part.

Let's say you can't decide between Option 1 and Option 2. Lucky you, you have an Option 3! Freeze your wontons for a rainy day. Really easy. Stick them in a well-sealed Ziploc bag and throw them in your freezer. When you want to make soup, just put the frozen wontons into the boiling broth. If you want to fry them, make sure you thaw them first before frying them up crispy.

Wonton Soup

I usually opt for all three options. Directions for Wonton Soup and Fried Wontons are below!

Wontons
1 lb ground pork
2 tsp honey
2 tbl soy sauce
6 green onions, chopped
wonton wrappers

Combine pork, honey, soy sauce, and green onions in a bowl. Mix well. Wrap wontons as below.

Wrapping a Wonton
1) Put 2 tsp of filling into a wonton wrapper. Make sure not to put in too much!
2) Wet two adjacent edges of the wonton wrapper with a small amount of water.
3) Fold up the wet edges to their opposing edges so that you have a triangle.
4) Press the edges firmly. The more firmly you press, the less likely your wonton will be to fall apart.
5) Fold up the corners of the triangle and seal with a small amount of water.

Wonton Soup
5 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 inches of fresh ginger, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
5 green onions, chopped
wontons

Combine all ingredients through fish sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 min. Add green onions. Return to a boil, add wontons one at a time. Boil for 10 minutes, or until wontons are al dente. Serve immediately.

Fried Wontons
Vegetable oil
Wontons
Soy sauce
Sriracha sauce
Sweet and sour sauce

Heat 3 inches deep of vegetable oil over medium-high heat until temperature reaches 370 deg F. Working in batches, add wontons and fry until a deep brown color. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with soy sauce and Sriracha.