This Wonton recipe is from my friend Julie's cooking blog, Real (Good) Cooking. To learn how Julie and I are almost related, check out the guest post she did for me back in December.
I have been wanting to try Julie's Wonton recipe for awhile, but I have to admit, I was a little intimidated. I mean, I have never made wontons or anything like that myself, and I have never even thought of purchasing tofu before! Fortunately, she blogged about the recipe and added some great step-by-step pictures. Funny how pictures work, isn't it? I immediately added the wonton recipe to this week's menu plan, and look how great they turned out!
Note: this recipe makes 30-40 wontons, way more than my family could eat in one sitting, so I froze some uncooked wontons to fry up on leftover night.
Wontons
3/4 lb. lean ground beef (or if you're feeling frisky, use chopped, raw shrimp)
1/2 package tofu (firm works best)
3-4 scallions, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup chopped bean sprouts
1/4 tsp. each of salt, pepper, garlic powder
1/2 package tofu (firm works best)
3-4 scallions, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup chopped bean sprouts
1/4 tsp. each of salt, pepper, garlic powder
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 package wonton wrappers (found in the produce section by the tofu and refrigerated salad dressing)
canola oil
1 package wonton wrappers (found in the produce section by the tofu and refrigerated salad dressing)
canola oil
Place the raw ground beef, tofu (cut into chunks), scallions, sprouts, seasonings, and soy sauce in a large bowl and mix with (clean) hands.
Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in the bottom of large pot over medium heat.
To assemble the wontons: Spoon a small lump of the filling onto the middle of each wrapper.
Using your finger dipped in water, wet the edges of the wrapper and fold in half to make a triangle shape. Make sure they are sealed all the way around. If you get a hole in the wrapper, tear off a small piece in the corner to patch it.
Once you have several wontons prepared, gently put one in the oil. You know the oil is ready when the wonton starts to bubble and sizzle. Once the oil is ready, cook 4-5 wontons at a time. Cook until golden brown (3-4 minutes on each side).
Watch your oil carefully. If it starts to sizzle a lot and the wontons are browning quickly, turn down the heat. If the wontons brown too quickly, the filling will not be cooked. You probably want to cut open the first couple right away to make sure the filling is cooking through all the way.
Put wontons on paper towel lined plate to cool.
Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce
apricot jam
soy sauce
Heat jam in microwave in 30 second intervals until runny enough to push through a fine mesh strainer. Strain out the chunks and add soy sauce to taste (a couple of Tbsp soy sauce per cup of jam).
Fried Rice
serves 3-4
1 cup rice
sesame oil (or canola oil)
4 scallions (green onions), chopped
2 eggs
soy sauce, powdered ginger, and pepper, to taste
Cook the rice and let cool for a few minutes.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat (be conservative if you use sesame oil, it has a strong flavor).
Add the onions and saute for a minute.
Dump in the rice. I do have a way with words, don't I?
Add some soy sauce, ginger and pepper.
Cook and stir for a few minutes until heated through.
Push rice to the side, add eggs and scramble.
Mix scrambled egg into rice, cook and stir for a minute or two more and serve alongside Fried Wontons or Thai Honey Peanut Chicken.
This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 12.
Glad you liked them. My family (growing up, not now--Nate doesn't do Asian) unfortunately, could eat the whole batch in one sitting. But I never thought of freezing them. What a great idea! I will have to try that next time.
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