I rarely deep fry anything, however, I have made these wontons many times and every time I make them I can't believe how good they are. There is something about the pork, onion, sherry and soy sauce insides mixed with the deep-fried goodness on the outside that just gets me, and then when you dip them into a sweet and sour sauce - oh my! My complaint with wontons at restaurants is they never put enough filling inside, sometimes it seems there is scarcely a teaspoon in there. The exception is cream cheese wontons, those are usually filled full of yumminess. I also have a Curried Beef Wonton recipe I want to share with you, but I digress.
I received this recipe on a notecard at my bridal shower many years ago and it quickly became a favorite. I have made them for an "Appetizer and Dessert" party I hosted and a full Chinese dinner for my family that included the dramatic cellophane noodles dropped into hot oil (kids and adults think this is cool), but mostly I have just made them on their own so we could eat as many as we like before I put the remainder in the freezer for another day.
When you are ready to assemble and fry the wontons be sure to have everything ready to go, they will fry up quick in the hot oil and you will be non-stop busy folding triangles and pulling out golden brown wontons to drain on a rack. I use water to seal my wonton skins, just dip a finger in the water, wipe it along the edges of the filled wonton skin and fold and seal tight. Water works just fine for me, but many people use egg whites, your choice. The wontons often have such a good seal on them they puff up with air and when I turn them with a pair of tongs I have to hold them on that side for a bit or they will just flip back over on me.
Pork Wontons
1 pound ground pork, cooked
3 green onions, chopped
4 water chestnuts, chopped
a pinch of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
4 mushrooms, chopped
a pinch of fresh pepper
1 package wonton skins
Peanut oil for frying
Mix the first nine ingredients together. Cover the wonton skins with a damp towel when working with them so they do not dry out. Assemble the wontons by placing a scant tablespoon of the mixture in the center of a wonton skin. Seal the wonton skin edges with water or egg white, fold them into a triangle shape and then pull two of the points together and seal with water or egg white. Deep fry in peanut oil over medium high heat until golden brown. Serve with sweet and sour sauce. These may be frozen and reheated in a 300 degree F. oven until hot, being careful not to brown them more.
Sense of Home Recipes / Appetizers
