Fried Wontons - International Dumpling Incident

Another International Incident comes again. In May, we’re throwing a dumplings party. I think this is my last post before I go to Melbourne and Adelaide for holidays. It’s been a long time I haven’t traveled to Melbourne and enjoyed yummy foods there. I’d catch up with all of you whenever I get access on internet.

(Photo credits to gowalkabouttravel.com)

In this International Dumplings Incident, we also celebrate the birthdays of all May babies. Congratulations on Mardi, turning 40 on this special day, Divina Pe, moving to take up a job offer as well Shirley, Pam and Evelyne. All the best wishes to all of them.

My post of this International Dumpling Incident focuses on sharing how to make a popular, famous Chinese snack, deep-fried wontons (jinlu yuntun 錦鹵雲吞), a kind of Cantonese dumplings. Originally, this snack was supposed to use any leftovers you got to cook the sweet and sour sauce. Traditionally, people would add squid/calamari and pork liver, yet I omitted them this time. This traditional snack can hardly be found in Chinese restaurants nowadays. Some old-fashioned Chinese restaurants might have 錦鹵雲吞 on their menu anyway.

When it comes to cooking 錦鹵雲吞, don’t twist the wonton wrappers to seal the fillings as a parcel, but keep the wonton wrappers as flat as you can. The highlight is the deep-fried, crispy wonton wrapper dipped in the well-balanced sweet and sour sauce, not the filling. So, the fillings are kept to the minimum.

This post seems to be a bit long. But don’t be threatened by its length. The wontons are easy to make and often turned to be kids’ favourite.

Fried Wontons with Sweet & Sour Sauce (錦鹵雲吞) (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 packet (about 40 pieces) wonton wrappers (yellow in colour), available at Asian stores
• 130 gm pork mince
• 170 gm prawn/shrimp meat
• water, for wrapping wontons

Marinade for minced pork:

• 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp water

Marinade for prawns:

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• pepper, to taste

Ingredients of sweet and sour sauce:

• 1 onion, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp minced shallot
• 1/2 green capsicum, cut into small pieces
• 3 Tbsp ketchup
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 slices pineapple (fresh or canned), cut into small pieces
• 3 to 4 whole prawns/shrimps, with tails intacted
• 4 slices char siu (Chinese BBQ pork)

Thickening:

• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp water

Method of wrapping wontons:

1. Peel and devein prawns, rinse and wipe dry with kitchen papers. Make prawns meat about 170 grams. Cut each into 3 sections if it’s too big. Mix with marinade well.
2. Put marinade into pork and mix well. Add prawn meat and combine. Chill in fridge for 20 minutes, covered with film wrap.
3. When you’re ready for wrapping wontons, prepare some water in a little bowl. Remove the filling from fridge. Use chopsticks or a teaspoon to place one teaspoon of minced pork and prawn filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Damp the sides of wonton wrappers with water. Fold diagonally and make a triangle shape. (Note: The triangle wontons are quickest and easiest to make, good for deep-frying as well.)

Method of deep-frying wontons:

1. Heat oil to 180C (350F) in a wok or a large saucepan, or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds.
2. Carefully place wontons in batches and deep-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Lightly press the wontons down, once you place them in the oil, because the wontons float on the surface of oil and won’t be cooked evenly. Stir occasionally, and cook until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Method of cooking sweet and sour sauce for deep-fried wontons:

1. Mix ketchup, white vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt in water.
2. Heat oil in a wok (or frypan). Pan fry the prawns with tails intacted until colour changed. Set aside.
3. Add more oil and sauté the onion over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and shallot until aromatic. Toss in the capsicum and stir-fry until softened. Pour in ketchup mixture. Bring it to a boil. Add pineapples and BBQ pork lastly. You might like to adjust the taste by adding more sugar or water bit by bit to your liking. Season with salt. Add thickening and cook to your preferred consistency. Transfer into a serving bowl. Arrange prawns on top. Served hot with deep-fried wontons.

Notes:

• Wonton wrappers (雲吞皮) look similar to the dumpling wrappers (餃子皮). The colour of wontons is yellow, whereas dumplings white. Try to buy those good quality wonton wrappers that are made by eggs.
• If you’d like to have wontons in soup, please refer to previous Cantonese wonton soup and cook the soup. 

You might like to wrap the wontons following the method that I shared previously, or adapt this new method of wrapping wontons here. Take a look at this new video of demonstration: