These Homemade Wontons are filled with a juicy pork mixture and are such a comfort food. These were the first dumplings I ever made! I’d cook them up all the time at Uni. With my step by step video and photos, this dish will become one of your staple go-to’s in no time!
Bonus: Once you’ve wrapped up the Wontons, place them in the freezer for a rainy day! Then, just remove and boil for 7 minutes.
If you love dumplings, why not try my Pan-Fried Turkey dumplings, Chicken & Prawn Dumplings, or my Gluten-Free steamed rice paper dumplings.
Wontons
These Chinese dumplings can come in myriad forms. It’s common to eat them with soup, chili oil, or noodles. In terms of cooking, they can be boiled, fried, or steamed! They’re quite a versatile dish, but my favourite way to eat them is by devouring them with a chili oil concoction.
About This Homemade Wonton Recipe
In 2019, my boyfriend and I travelled over 2500km across China. On top of the incredible scenery and bustling cities, one of my personal highlights of the trip was the abundance of wontons (and other dumplings). Hence, where the inspiration for this recipe came from. We stayed with a family on the edge of the Great Wall and the lady of the house very kindly taught us how to make wontons. I’ve tweaked a few little things, but the overall taste is still so authentic and delicious.
Wonton Filling
As dumpling recipes become increasingly more popular, there is an infinite number of fillings that can be used for wontons. For meat and seafood lovers, a popular combination is pork and shrimp. For vegetarians, tofu, shiitake mushroom, and cabbage are a great substitute.
It’s traditional for the filling to look quite wet, so don’t panic! This is how the wontons end up being so juicy. You want to incorporate all of the ingredients by mixing everything in a circular motion until it forms a sticky paste.
Wonton Wrappers
The most common and quickest way to make wontons is by purchasing ready-made wrappers from an Asian supermarket. They are widely available and well priced. However, to make authentic wontons, you can easily make the wrappers from scratch. They are really simple to make and require just 4 ingredients - plain flour, water, egg, and a pinch of salt.
You can roll the wrappers out by hand and then cut them into squares. If you have a dough roller machine, this process becomes a lot easier, and enables you to have evenly thin wrappers.
Ways to wrap them -
- Place a teaspoon of the filling into the centre of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, into a triangle. Then, pinch two sides of the triangle and bring them together. Seal, and you have a delicately folded wonton (see video on my Instagram).
- Place a teaspoon of the filling into the centre of the wrapper and bring all the sides up together and pinch at the base where the filling ends. This creates a little picnic parcel. Easier and less time-consuming!
The Best Chilli Oil for Homemade Wontons
As I mentioned earlier, Wontons can be served in many ways. My favourite way is by submerging them in a homemade chilli oil sauce. I tend to include ingredients like soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, XO sauce, and chilli oil crisp. The marriage between these ingredients creates a tangy, spicy, and sweet flavour that just brings the Wontons to life.
About my Dumpling World Tour Series
I've set myself a challenge to go around the world in 80 dumplings. Why? Because so many countries share a love for dumplings and every country’s dumplings have their own unique twist. From Vareneki in Ukraine to Banh Bot Loc in Vietnam, dumplings are a way for us to celebrate various cultures and culinary differences from all parts of the globe.
Not all my dumpling recipes are up on my website, yet! So, if you’d like to check them out, head on over to my Instagram for the video tutorial and full recipe!
You might also fancy some more dinner recipes...
Homemade Wontons in Chilli Oil
Ingredients
Filling
- 250g Pork Mince
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- ½ inch Ginger, minced
- 2 teaspoon Sesame Oil
- 2 teaspoon Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing Wine
- 2 Spring Onions, finely chopped
Wrappers
- 150g Plain Flour
- 1 Egg
- 50 ml Warm water
- ½ tsp Salt
Chilli Oil Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 2 tablespoon Chilli oil crisp (laoganma)
- 1 tablespoon Hot Water
Instructions
Filling
- In a bowl, combine all the filling ingredients. In order to create a silky wet paste, use your fingers and rotate in a circular motion for around 3 minutes.
Wrappers
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Create a well in the center of the mixture and add in the egg. Slowly pour in the water and mix well (I find chopsticks to be a really good way to mix the ingredients in order to cover the flour with the egg and water). If the mixture is too dry, add more water. If it’s too wet, add more flour. Begin using your hands until a pliable dough has formed.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for around 5 minutes or until elastic. Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a damp cloth for at least 10 minutes.
- Cut the dough into four equal pieces. Using a rolling pin or a dough rolling machine, roll out the pieces until they’re around 3mm thick. Cut the dough into 3 inch squares.
Wrapping
- Lay the wonton wrappers on a work surface. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of the filling into the centre of the wrapper. Brush all the edges with water and then bring every edge to the top to create a pony tail like wrapping, press to seal. (see video on my Instagram)
- Place the wrapped wontons into a container with a lid as you work or cover with cling film to avoid them drying out.
Chilli Oil Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine all of the chilli oil sauce ingredients.
Cooking
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Place the Wontons in the water and simmer for 5 minutes or until they float to the surface. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon straight into serving bowls. Spoon over the chilli oil sauce until all the Wontons are generously covered.
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