Crispy Wontons

April 16, 2013

Author: KatieChin

There’s nothing like biting into a crispy wonton. I love the sensation of that first crunch followed by a tender and juicy pillowy center of yummy shrimp, chicken and water chestnuts. These are so easy to make and are great for entertaining because they only take a couple of minutes to fry. They’re also extremely economical as you can make 50-60 wontons with this recipe using only about 1/2 pound of shrimp and 1/4 pound of ground chicken. The other cool thing is that you can put a few wontons aside before frying and drop them into boiling chicken broth with some veggies and voila! you have wonton soup. That’s what I call Double Happiness!! Whenever an Asian recipe calls for sesame oil, make sure it’s dark or toasted sesame oil. You can find Asian sesame oil in the gourmet section of Cost Plus World Market.

Ingredients

1/2 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp, pureed in food processor of finely chopped

1/4 pound ground chicken or pork

6 canned water chestnuts, finely chopped

1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped (green and white parts)

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon toasted seame oil

dash white pepper

1 pound wonton skins

Store-bought sweet and sour sauce

1 egg, slightly beaten

Veegetale or corn oil for frying

Instructions

Mix the shrimp, chicken or pork, water chestnuts, green onions, cornstarch, salt, sesame oil and white pepper in a medium bowl.
Place 1/2 teaspoon shrimp mixture in center of wonton skin (cover the remaining skins with a damp towel). Fold the bottom corner of the wonton skin over the filling to the opposite corner, forming a triangle. Brush the right corner of the triangle with some egg. Bring the corners together below the filling; pinch the left corner to the right corner to seal. Repeat with the remaining wonton skins.
Heat the oil (to 1 1/2 inches) in a wok or deep skillet to 350 degrees. Fry 8 to 10 wontons at a time until golden brown, turning 2 or 3 times, about 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Serve with store-bought sweet and sour sauce.