How to make fried wontons with sweet-and-sour sauce – a guaranteed crowd pleaser
- This finger food is the perfect way to kick off the party season, suitable for all but the most formal occasions
- The recipe make a lot, if you have leftovers, freeze them to use in wonton soup
In the lead-up to the holiday season, friends and family are hosting everything from casual barbecues and BYOB parties to extravagant catered dinners. These fried wontons with sweet-and-sour dipping sauce are delicious and, as finger food, suitable for all but the most formal occasions.
Fried wontons
This recipe makes a lot of wontons, but your guests will love them. If it’s too many for your party, freeze the wontons you don’t cook and, once solid, store them in ziplock bags in the freezer. When needed, boil them to make wonton soup. Reheat leftover fried wontonsin a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes.
30 grams dried shiitake mushrooms, three to four, depending on size
700 grams minced pork
40ml light soy sauce
30ml rice wine
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp finely ground white pepper
5ml sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
15 grams peeled ginger
5 fresh water chestnuts
3-5 spring onions
A small handful of fresh coriander leaves
About 60 wonton skins
Cooking oil, as necessary
1 Briefly rinse the dried shiitake under cool running water, then place in a bowl. Pour warm water into the bowl until the mushrooms can swim in the liquid and soak for about two hours, or until they are fully hydrated.
2 While the mushrooms are soaking, put the pork into a medium-sized bowl and add the soy sauce, rice wine, salt, sugar, pepper, sesame oil and cornstarch. Mix thoroughly.
3 Finely mince the ginger. Peel the water chestnuts, rinsing well to remove any dirt, and cut into rough dice. Mince the spring onions and roughly chop the coriander. Squeeze the excess water from the rehydrated mushrooms and remove and discard the stems. Cut the mushroom caps into small cubes. Add the ginger, water chestnut, spring onion, coriander and mushroom to the pork and combine thoroughly.
4 Lay about half the wonton skins on a work surface, keeping the rest wrapped so they don’t dry out. Fill a small dish with water for dampening the skins when making the wontons.
