Ingredients:
1. Ground pork, about one pound. It's less healthy to eat pork fat, but a bit of fat makes the wontons taste much better. My MIL buys lean ground pork and ground pork and mixes it together. Today, I just used lean ground pork. Alternatively, you can use chicken or turkey. One can also add chopped up shrimp, but I didn't use any because my youngest daughter would be eating the wontons. Season with salt, white pepper, and sugar (1/2 tsp). One can add other seasonings such as hoisin sauce, but I kept mine more bland for my daughters.
2. Bok choy. Finely chopped. After chopping, place it in a strainer over a bowl, and add some salt. Allow to sit for 2-3 hours. This step drains the water in the vegetable. I bought some baby bok choy for today's wontons.
3. Black fungus, chopped. According to wikipedia, the scientific name is Auricularia polytricha. It adds a crunchy texture to the wontons. Alternatively, one can add corn instead.
4. One egg, beaten up. This is more flexible, but the egg is there to keep the meat in the wonton wrapper. I had leftover yolks from another recipe that I was using, so I used that instead.
5. Wonton wrappers.
Method:
1. Mix the ground pork, bok choy, black fungus, and egg.
2. Take one wonton wrapper. One side is heavily floured. This floured side should be the outside of the wonton. Scoop a generous teaspoon of the meat mixture, and place it in the middle of the non-floured side. Fold the wrapper diagonally in half and then bring the other two corners together to form a ball.
I always think it's better to have leftover meat rather than leftover wrappers. The leftover meat can be steamed for a nice side dish with rice. Unfortunately, I had leftover wrappers, which I wrapped tightly in plastic and placed in the freezer for next time.
Once all the wontons are prepared, I placed them in salted boiling water, one at a time and in batches. After placing them in boiling water, I stirred them briefly and then allowed them to cook. They are done once they are floating and the water is boiling again. This water is discarded and the wontons can be served in clear chicken broth.
Typically, I make more than I can eat at one time, and there are two ways for storage:
1. Uncooked, in the fridge (2-3 days) on in the freezer (2-3 months). Cook as needed.
2. Boiled until almost completely cooked, rinsed in cold water, and in the fridge. Reheat in chicken broth.
My critics enjoyed the wontons. Cassie (3.5 years) asked for a second bowl of wontons, and Adrie (1.5 years) polished off her bowl in an instant. My husband thought he was eating his mom's wontons, so I guess I did something right!
Enjoy!
Is it easy to wrap wontons? Do u need to wet the edges a bit so they stick? yours look so professional!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was pretty easy to wrap the wontons. No need to wet the edges because the egg in the meat mixture will keep the wrapper together. My MIL doesn't bother with folding the wrapper. She just puts the meat on the wrapper, and squeezes the whole thing together.
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