Wonton wrappers
Properties: Made from wheat flour, eggs, salt and water, these thin wrappers are basically a pasta dough with mostly carbohydrates and a little protein from the egg. While it’s possible to make your own from scratch, it’s most practical to purchase them premade in a plastic wrapped package at just about any regular supermarket.
Uses: Traditionally used for making Chinese wontons. Minced pork and shrimp are wrapped in the skin, cooked in a stock, and served in a bowl of soupy egg noodles.
Flavors: Bland by themselves, the wrappers take on the flavors of the stock and carry the flavors of the meat and shrimp in a wonton soup; if fried or baked, they carry the caramelized flavor of the cooked dough.
Where to buy them: Supermarkets, specialty stores, and ethnic (Asian) stores in the refrigerated or frozen sections.
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Once used only in China, and only to wrap Chinese dumplings, wonton skins have branched out in both geography and usage.
Over time they came to be called “swallowing clouds,” because when served in a bowl of good chicken stock, they floated about like clouds, and eating them was as easy and delicious as “swallowing clouds.”
Since the introduction of wontons and wonton skins to the United States, home cooks and chefs have found innovative uses for the wrappers. For one thing, they behave admirably when used in mini muffin or mini cupcake pans and baked into little cups to be served with virtually any meat, vegetable, egg or dairy filling for appetizers or desserts. Once fully baked, they won’t flop but will remain crisp throughout.
You can also boil or steam them, pan-fry, shallow- or deep-fry them, and bake them. For most Western applications, though, since a crisp shell is preferred, frying and baking are used.
When I sought some options on the internet for current uses, I came across some intriguing ideas: open-faced or rolled-up mini pizzas and pizza sticks; “lasagna” cups; herbed ravioli; baked samosas and empanadas; lamb cigars; mozzarella basil bites with marinara sauce; mini cannelloni; mini tacos; buffalo chicken shells; hot dog wraps; and baked fruit bites.
My friend Kathy Bach often just bakes triangles of them with a dash of salt and spice and uses them instead of tortilla chips for her tuna poke appetizers. I’ve also seen them cut into strips and deep fried; those would go well in a bowl of steaming congee, but given a dusting of powdered sugar, they can be served as a simple dessert.
Counter Culture zeroes in on a single food or ingredient (or sometimes, technique) to help readers broaden their horizons in the kitchen. May Klisch is a freelance food writer living in Shorewood. Email her at mayklisch@gmail.com.
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This quick and easy dessert recipe using fresh strawberries and Nutella is adapted from Recipe Tin Eats.
Strawberry and Nutella Nibbles
Recipe tested by May Klisch
Makes 20; serves 4-6.
- 20 wonton wrappers
- 20 teaspoons Nutella
- 1 cup strawberries, diced one-quarter inch, extra for garnish if desired
- 4 Tablespoons water, plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed well
- 4 cups canola oil
- Confectioner’s sugar
Place a wonton wrapper squarely on a dry surface and place a teaspoon each of Nutella and diced strawberries in the center. Brush ¼ inch of two contiguous (90 degree angled) sides (the north and west) with the cornstarch mixture. Fold the dry (southeast) corner over to meet the opposite (northwest) corner to form a triangle. Now fold the two sharp corners to meet in the center, dabbing a little water between them and sealing them with a light pressing between the fingers. Make sure all edges are secure.
Heat the oil to 375 degrees in a medium pot or wok. Slide three or four packages in at once, keeping them separate from one another. Turn over when slightly brown, and then when all is golden brown (2-3 minutes), remove with a slotted spoon or gently with tongs onto a plate with paper towels to drain the oil. Repeat until all 20 are done. Let cool until warm and dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve.
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A recipe for traditional wontons, handed down from my mom, used ground pork, but recently I’ve used turkey to keep the dish a little healthier.
Traditional wontons
Recipe tested my May Klisch
makes 40-50 wontons
- 1 pound of ground turkey
- ½ pound of raw shelled shrimp, diced to a half inch
- 1 tablespoon corn flour, plus extra for sealing
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 diced scallions, plus extra for serving
- 1 raw egg
- 1 teaspoon toasted Asian sesame oil
- ½ cup diced water chestnuts
- ½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice.
- 1 package of wonton skins (40-50)
- Water as needed
- 8-10 cups of chicken stock
- White pepper to taste
- Cilantro to taste
Soy sauce or Sriracha chile sauce for seasoning (optional)
In a large bowl, add the corn flour, soy sauce, salt, sugar, scallions, egg, sesame oil, water chestnuts and five spice to the turkey and shrimp. Mix well.
Fill each wonton skin with a generous teaspoon of filling and seal the edges with a mixture of water and corn flour. Bring chicken stock to a boil in a large pot, and drop wontons in. Boil for about 2-3 minutes until the wrappers wrinkle and the wontons float.
Drain wontons and serve with a sprinkle of white pepper and extra diced scallions or cilantro. Top with soy sauce or Sriracha sauce if desired.
Note: Extra wontons can be frozen individually and used as needed.
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February 14, 2020 at 07:00PM
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Wonton wrappers defy traditional uses with a sweet strawberry-Nutella dessert - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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