Wontons are warm, wonderful and versatile dumplings. They can be used in soups, served with a dipping sauce, used in a main dish, or just served as an appetizer. They are one of the first Chinese foods I learned to make when I was young. I remember my Nai-Nai (Chinese for grandmother) setting up her little table in the kitchen to make wontons. She had the wrappers and the meat all laid out. Then she would call me over and show me how to fold them. After several tries, I finally got it right!

As the guru of “quick, easy, and delicious Chinese food,” these dumplings are unfortunately not quick to make, but they sure are delicious! They are well worth the time and patience. Below is the recipe I’ve used over the years. It is best to read through the entire recipe before you start. I hope you enjoy these as much as I have! Enjoy!

To see a video of these instructions click here.

Wontons
50 wonton wrappers
1.5 lbs ground pork
3 green onion stalks
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1 medium egg
Small bowl of water

Soy Ginger Sauce
¼ cup of soy sauce
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Preparation:

1. Place the ground pork in a large bowl and set it aside.


2. Cut the bottoms off the green onions as well as about 1 to 1 1/2 inches from the tops and discard. Rinse the remaining stalks under cold water and dry them with paper towels. Then dice them into small pieces.


3. Mix the green onion, ginger, salt, and egg into the ground pork. Stir everything together with a fork, and then use your hands to mix it thoroughly.


4. To make the wontons, set up a work area. You will need a board or plate to wrap the wontons on, the wonton wrappers, filling, a bowl of warm water, and a plate to place the finished wontons on.

Making the Wontons:

1. Begin by placing a wonton wrapper on a board or plate. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the ground pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Be sure to get some of the green onion in each wonton. Next, moisten the edges of the wrapper by dipping a finger in the water and lightly spreading it along the border.


2. Fold the wrapper diagonally in half and press along the edges to seal the meat inside. This forms a triangle shape. Next wet one of the bottom corners of this triangle. Then take the two bottom corners of the triangle and bring them together, overlapping the dry corner on top of the wet corner. Press them tightly to seal. If the meat begins to squeeze out the sides when you bring these two corners together, simply use a little less meat. You only need to use a little meat to make a great wonton.


3. Continue wrapping all of the wontons.


4. Once all of the wontons are wrapped, heat a large pot of water on high and bring it to boil.


5. When the water boils, slowly place the wontons in the water. I like to do this by hand, dropping them in one at a time. As you drop the wontons in, they will sink to the bottom of the pot. As they begin to cook, they will start to rise to the top. Depending on the size of your pot, cook about 10 wontons at a time. Keep in mind that we don't want to overcrowd the pot. Boil them for about 8 to 10 minutes.


6. Slowly remove the wontons with a slotted spoon, placing them on a serving plate. Try to drain all the water off as you remove them.


7. To make the soy ginger sauce, stir together the soy sauce, ginger and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl. Serve the wontons with this delicious sauce. Makes 50.