How to Cook Fried Wontons Easily
Fried wontons, small dumplings with a distinctive fold, can be fried, steamed, or boiled. The simple, savory filling is traditionally made with ground pork, but you can use chicken or turkey, shrimp or crab, or tofu for a vegetarian dish.
The only challenging part of making fried wontons is forming the dumplings, but after a little practice, the process becomes intuitive. And, if you don’t master the technique, you may wind up with funny-looking dumplings, but the flavor will be just as good.
Serve fried wontons as an appetizer or main dish.
Things You’ll Need:
- Ground pork
- Cabbage
- Green onions
- Fresh ginger
- Soy sauce
- Wonton skins
- Oil
- Wok or skillet
- Dipping sauce
Instructions:
- Prepare the filling by combining ground pork, finely chopped cabbage and green onions, peeled and chopped fresh ginger, and a little bit of soy sauce.
- Hold a wonton skin in the palm of one hand and place about a half teaspoon of the filling in the center. Fold two opposite corners together to form a triangle. Dampen the other two corners with a little bit of water, and pull them toward each other. Pinch them together — the water helps form a seal.
- Pour oil into a wok or skillet and bring it to medium heat. You can test the temperature by placing the tip of a bamboo chopstick in the oil. If the oil is ready, it will bubble around the chopstick.
- Cook the wontons in the hot oil in several batches, leaving space all around each dumpling. Turn the wontons several times as they cook and lower the temperature if they cook too fast. The finished wontons should be golden brown.
- Drain the cooked wontons on several layers of paper towels and serve them with a sweet or savory Asian dipping sauce.
Tips & Warnings:
- Remove excess moisture from the cabbage by sprinkling it with salt after chopping it. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and then squeeze the cabbage. Discard the accumulated liquid.
- Wonton skins are frequently kept in the fresh produce section of the supermarket. Store unused skins in a re-sealable plastic bag.
- Cut into a wonton to check for doneness. The pork should be cooked thoroughly. If it’s not, reheat the oil and continue to cook the wontons for a few minutes.
- Crowding the pan will lower the temperature of the oil, and produce a mushy wonton.
