Fried Wontons
When I was a child, my mom often kept me busy making wontons, putting three or four packages of the skins and a big bowl of pork-and-shrimp filling in front of me. (That’s 150 to 200 wontons!) She served the fried wontons to family and guests alike, who delighted in dipping the crispy morsels into our homemade sweet-and-sour sauce, a lighter version of the Chinese classic flavored with fish sauce instead of soy sauce.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 48 wontons, to serve 6 to 8
Ingredients
Filling
Preparation
Step 1
To make the filling, in a bowl, combine the pork, shrimp, scallion, garlic, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and pepper and use chopsticks or a fork to mix well.
Step 2
To fill the wontons, work in batches of 6 to 8 wonton skins. Place them on a work surface, such as large cutting board, inverted baking sheet, or tray. Using 2 teaspoons or demitasse spoons, place a scant teaspoon of filling (about the size of a 1/2-inch marble) in the center of a wonton skin. Dip a pastry brush in water and lightly brush the entire edge of the skin. Pick up a corner of the wonton skin and fold it over, enclosing the filling and forming a triangle. Press the edges of the triangle firmly with your finger to seal. Make sure that there are no air bubbles, or the wontons will bob around in the hot oil, and that the edges are well sealed, or the wontons will split open when they hit the hot oil. Place the finished wonton on a large plate or tray. Repeat until all the filling is used up.
Step 3
Put a wire rack on a baking sheet and place the sheet next to the stove. Pour oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches into a wok or 5-quart Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat to 350°F on a deep-frying thermometer. (If you don’t have a thermometer, stand a dry bamboo chopstick in the oil; if small bubbles immediately gather on the surface around the chopstick, the oil is ready.)
Step 4
Working in batches of 4 to 6, slide the wontons into the hot oil and fry, turning once, for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Using a skimmer, transfer to the rack to drain.
Step 5
Arrange the wontons on a platter. Serve hot as finger food along with the sauce for dipping.
