How to make Wontons with chilli oil
Wontons…… melt in your mouth wontons, topped with a spicy chilli oil. My family has been hooked on dumplings and wontons since our stay in Singapore. Din Tai Fung, an amazing chain of restaurants, specializing in dumplings, wontons was our must visit places at least once a month. The restaurant had huge glass windows from where you could look into the kitchen while the experts weighed, scooped and pleated the dumplings and wontons to perfection. Truly art in motion! They served this amazing bowl of chicken wonton in a soup topped with some chilli oil and black vinegar (I didn’t have any black vinegar in stock so left it out this time, I will update the recipe when I try with black vinegar). My kids just inhaled these and I had to keep repeating the order atleast a couple of times.It’s the same story when I make at home, so I ensure that I make atleast 15-20 wontons per person.They just disappear so quickly! But the best part is it is not too difficult to make, if you have pre-made wonton wrappers.
I used store bought wrappers this time but I prefer homemade ones as the store bought ones are usually drier and less pliable and tend to break easily. Serve this with my chilli oil which I had posted recently. With just a few ingredients, this one is a breeze to make. The only effort here is to fold the wontons.
Typically wonton wrappers are square shaped while dumplings are round. Wontons are usually boiled/poached in water whereas dumplings are steamed or pan fried. I’m no expert at folding dumplings but watching several youtube videos helps 😄. The wontons lose their shape during the cooking process and becomes all wrinkly so don’t worry about it at all. Whichever method of folding works for you, is ok. Try folding it into a money bag shape or a simple triangle or try one of the methods I have shown in the video. There are a number of ways to fold them and kids love to chip in. This is one group family activity everyone loves to chip in with, just be prepared for a messy worktop and peals of laughter while everyone comes up with their own techniques of folding!
The filling for wonton could not be any simpler, just a few ingredients with minimal prep. You could substitute with prawns or mushrooms and chestnuts for a vegetarian option too. I will post a few more variations that I make while making wontons. I used the same filling to make some dumplings too same time, which was totally unexpected for the kids and they were overjoyed !! With the measurement below you should easily get 15-20 wontons.
Wontons in chilli oil
Ingredients
- 250 gms minced chicken
- 2-3 scallions chopped fine white part only, reserve the green tops for garnish
- 1 tsp ginger and garlic chopped fine
- 1 tbsp sesame oil and soya sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12-15 wonton wrappers
- 2-3 tbsp chilli oil
- water for cooking wontons
- sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl mix the minced chicken, scallions, ginger, garlic, soya sauce, sesame oil and pepper. Mix well until combined
- Fry a small piece of the filling to check for seasoning and add salt if required
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil
- Meanwhile prepare the wontons.
- Wet the edges of a wonton wrapper with little water and add a teaspoonful filling in the centre
- Fold the wonton to make a triangle shape. You can leave this as is or join the other two corners of the base to make an envelope shape or squeeze them tighter so that the top looks like a cap and the base looks like a folded or crossed over arms. Check video if what Im saying makes no sense 😄
- Add the wontons into the pot of boiling water. Make sure you do not overcrowd the pan
- The wontons will rise up to the top and float once they have cooked
- Scoop them out into bowls. Add few spoons of the water in which the wontons were cooked and top off with chilli oil as per taste.
- Garnish with scallion greens and sesame seeds.
