basic wontons
Chinese takeout in New York City has a distinct taste. MSG-induced, overly salted, yet borderline addicting. An undeniably convenient guilty pleasure of sorts, and not just because it's the only type of establishment to ignore major holidays. When I get a chance to cook something, I'm not usually thinking Chinese food, but in an experimental phase at the moment, so the food segments going forward will feature something I’ve never used. Ever.
So today, I bring to the forefront, wonton wrappers. Dissecting the very use to find a surfeit of recipes on the WWW, just to settle on a rendition of the simplest one - wonton, as is. You can end up frying, boiling, steaming, or whatever your heart stomach desires/ finds easiest. I love how elementary making Chinese food is.
Shrimp Wontons *makes about 50 (1 pack of wonton wrappers)
Ingredients 1 pound of raw shrimp, washed, deveined, tails removed, and coarsely chopped (OR protein of choice - ground pork or chicken) 3 stalks of scallions, washed, trimmed, and thinly sliced 1 pack wonton wrappers, defrosted 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tsp soy sauce, for taste Dash of white pepper 1 tbsp garlic powder 1/2 tbsp cornstarch 1 large egg water or 1 egg for sealing wrapper 3 cups of water
Directions - In a food processor, pulse cleaned shrimp into a paste, optional. Skip this step if you're using ground pork or chicken. - In a large bowl, using a fork, combine shrimp, 1 egg, scallions, cornstarch, sesame oil, soy sauce, white pepper, garlic powder. Mix well. - Place one teaspoon of filling at the center of the wonton. Using your finger or a brush, create a circle directly around the filling with the water or egg wash. Fold, then pinch together the wet area until wonton wrapper is full sealed. While preparing the rest of the wontons, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large heavy-bottom pot. Drop desired amount of wontons into water. Cook for 8-10 minutes on medium-high heat.
*Store uncooked, wrapped wontons up in the freezer for up to 3 weeks in an airtight bag or container. When ready to eat, you have to options: 1) to boil - simply drop frozen wontons into a pot of boiling water, cook for 8-10 minutes; 2) to fry - defrost then cook for about to 8-10 minutes in a non-stick pan.