Who doesn’t love a good deep-fried wonton? Whether eaten one its own or with noodles, Danielle Graham, author of On The Table At Home, shows you how to make these addictive fried treats you can serve up for guests for Chinese New Year or any time of the year. Prepare a soy sauce dip for maximum flavour.
Watch this video for Danielle’s guide on how to fill and fold wontons:
Ingredients
- 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 3 cups hot water
- 400 g minced (ground) pork
- 100 g raw prawn (shrimp) meat, minced (ground)
- 2 tbsps oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 3 tbsps finely chopped ginger
- 1 free-range egg, lightly whisked
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 32 fresh wonton wrappers
- Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 1 small red chilli, thinly sliced, to serve
- 2 tbsps fish sauce, to serve
DIPPING SAUCE
- 3 tbsps soy sauce
- 1 tbsp julienned ginger
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 3 tbsps mirin
Steps
DIPPING SAUCE
Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.
WONTONS
Soak the shiitake mushrooms in the hot water for 30 mins. Squeeze out the excess water and dice the mushrooms finely, discarding the stems.
Put the minced pork and prawn and the mushroom in a large bowl and mix well. Add the oyster sauce, coriander leaves, sugar, ginger, egg, white pepper and sesame oil and mix well.
Lay several wonton wrappers on a work surface and place 1 tsp of the filling in the centre of each one. Using a fingertip, dampen the edge of each wrapper with a little water and bring up the sides around the filling. Pinch the edges together at the top to seal the wonton; it should look like a small bag. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling (WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE).
Half-fill a wok or large heavy-based saucepan with vegetable oil, place over high heat and heat to 170 C or until a cube of bread dropped in the oil turns golden brown in 20 seconds. Deep-fry the wontons, in batches, for 2 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Do not overcrowd the wok. Drain on paper towel.
Arrange the wontons on a platter. Serve hot with the dipping sauce and the combined chilli and fish sauce.
Danielle’s Tips:
- Make more wontons and freeze some, as they are great to have on hand.
- You can use minced chicken instead of pork or fill them with anything you like.
- You can boil the wontons instead of deep-frying them.
This recipe can be found in On The Table At Home by Malaysian-born actress, model and mum-of-two Danielle Peita Graham, who is a self-confessed foodie and avid home cook. She’s also launched a range of cookware, including pots and pans, utensils and cutlery, which are available online and at Tott Store.