Two Way Wontons

I know, I know. I suck at updating blogs. However, I made delicious wontons last night and decided to share them with the world (or my friends at least).

I also suck at following recipes and measuring ingredients so I'm trying to estimate quantities as best as I can. Both wonton recipes have the same pork mixture:

Pork Wontons

1lb Ground Pork
3-4 chopped scallions (a few tablespoons worth)
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms (I used oyster mushrooms but anything can be used. I reccomend Shitake)
1 1/2 tbs. Soy Sauce (dark)
1 tbs. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 egg (save the other half for later!)


Basically you take all the ingredients and mix it up really well in a medium bowl. You can even use a food processor if you have one available (saves you some chopping time). Once everything is evenly incorporated, toss it in the fridge at least an hour to marinate (or less if you're short on time, I guess...). Meanwhile, get a tray out for setting your wontons out, and mix the 1/2 egg with some water (about 1/4 cup) in a small bowl. This egg-water wash will help seal the wontons.

I was able to make about 70-80 wontons with this recipe. I made about 45 for soup, and 30 or so fried.

To fold the wontons, take the wonton skin and drop about 3/4 tsp. of the pork mix in the middle. You only want a little so it cooks evenly and it doesn't spill out when cooked.
Then, dip your finger in the egg-water wash and run it along two edges of the wonton to be folded diagonally. The fried wontons were just folded in half, but the wontons for soup were folded a bit more. For soup wontons, I like to make them into cute dumpling shapes and to do so, poke the meaty area at the bottom of the triangle and fold it like you would fold a fortune cookie. Then, moisten your fingers again and secure the two points of the triangle onto the body. Unfortunately I had no pictures but I'll take them next time I make wontons.

The soup I made was basically part chicken stock and part water. My grandma used to make her own stock by boiling a pot of water and cooking some chicken breasts in the morning. Either way you do it, a little salt and pepper won't hurt.
Get the soup to a rolling boil and then drop your soup wontons in. They should take about 15-20 minutes to cook and they will float at the top when done. Let the soup simmer for a little bit after they start to float.

To make fried wontons, take a large heavy-bottomed non-stick skillet and fill it with about an inch of vegetable oil. Toss the triangular wontons in, but don't overlap! Let them cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. It helps if you flatten the meat out a little so it cooks faster before you toss them in the oil.








I also made some simple fried rice to go with the wontons. Delicious!