Wontons With Ease

Image courtesy of Liam Hess.

Wontons are a sort of therapeutic medium for writer and editor Liam Hess. Who knew that wrapping dumplings could offer such a sense of peace? His favorite recipe, adopted from cook and writer Fuchsia Dunlop, provides him with a well-deserved calamity in between the hustle-and-bustle. “Wontons are always my comfort meal when getting back from a long trip,” Hess shares with Family Style, “comforting not only due to that silky, mouth-tingling sauce, but also for the mind-soothing pleasure of sitting at the kitchen table and wrapping dumplings for an hour while listening to a podcast.”

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Ingredients

Wontons (Serves 4):

• 400 grams minced pork
• 3 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 4 stalks spring onion
• 1 Chinese cabbage, shredded
• Thumb-size piece of ginger, very finely chopped
• 1 large pack of frozen wonton wrappers
• 1 egg, beaten
  

Sauce:

• 6-8 tablespoons soy sauce
• 6-8 tablespoons chili oil, with sediment
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoons sesame oil
• Thumb-size piece of ginger, julienned

Instructions

1. Mix the ginger, pork, egg, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a bowl, a splash of water and a pinch of crushed Sichuan peppercorns to taste.
2. Finely chop the spring onion whites, reserving the green tops for the sauce.
3. Beat one egg in a small bowl to use as glue.
4. Take a wonton wrapper and lay it flat in one hand.
5. Pick up a lump of the pork mixture, about tablespoon size, and place into the center of the wrapper, using a YouTube video for guidance if it’s your first time. As you make them, lay them out on a large plate lightly dusted with flour so they don’t stick.
6. Bring a large pan of water to a boil over a high heat.
7. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce, mixing the ingredients with the chopped spring onion green tops.
8. When the water has come to a boil, drop in the wontons. Stir gently to make sure they don't stick together and simmer for four to five minutes.
9. Remove the wontons and drain on a plate with a kitchen towel, then divide between the serving bowls.
10. Drizzle the sauce across each portion then top with the julienned ginger.
11. Serve immediately and mix them through the sauce before eating.