Published: · Modified: by Genevieve
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Simple and delicious. Pork wontons are little parcels of juicy, mouthwatering goodness. Packed full of flavour, these are perfect just on their own (with some form of dipping sauce) or in soups, with or without noodles. I've also got a traditional pork and cabbage pan-fried dumpling recipe that's also super yum. Definitely worth trying!
There are no rules when it comes to dipping sauces for pork wontons. Go with what you like. I looooove pairing it with a gingery, vinegary based dipping sauce with a hint of sesame oil. A chilli oil dipping sauce (infused with lots of Shichuan peppercorns!) is also fantastic with pork wontons.
In this recipe, I'll include my ginger and vinegar dipping sauce.
Make your own chilli oils or, there is a huge variety of chilli oils at any Asian grocery store to choose from!
Jump to:
- Ingredients
- Making pork wontons
- Make ahead - freezer friendly
- Tips for super yum pork wontons
- Other delicious Asian recipes to try!
- 📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- Pork mince opt for fatty pork mince for juicy filling!
- Wonton wrappers are available at Asian grocery stores. If you're in Australia, I've seen them at both Coles and Woolies (our major supermarkets).
- Soy sauce adds the beloved salty, umami flavour into the wontons.
- Shaoxing wineis a Chinese cooking wine (really good quality ones can be consumed as a beverage) that is made with fermented rice. Similar to cooking with red or white wine, Shaoxing wine adds depth and aroma to a dish.
- Dark brown sugaris used a lot (instead of white sugar) in my recipes as I find they add more flavour (the molasses) to any dish!
- Sesame oilis used to provide a nutty aroma. A little goes a long way. Because sesame oils are very strong in flavour, you don't want to overdo it.
- White pepper a classic for Chinese cooking. It is milder in taste than black pepper.
Making pork wontons
There are a couple of ways to wrap pork wontons. This method below is the easiest and quickest way. It's awesome as you need zero practice to make it perfectly - so easy.
One thing to keep in mind though. The key to wrapping any form of dumplings (ps. wontons are a type of dumpling) is to make sure you completely seal the filling with the wrapper. This way no filling will escape when it's being cooked (for this recipe, the wontons will be boiled). When wontons are not tightly wrapped, water can get into the wontons and thus diluting the flavour. This is a huge no no. You want to keep all the good flavours inside the wontons!
Easy wonton wrapping method
Psst. When I filmed this I made a filling that was half pork and half prawns. It was sooo yum. Kept all other ingredients exactly the same, just swapped half the pork mince for prawns. For the prawns, I just roughly chopped raw peeled, deveined prawns.
How do you know when wontons are done?
Like ravioli, wontons float to the top of the pot when they're ready. This takes about 4 minutes. I generally boil the wontons 10 to 20 seconds further once they float to the top. Just to make sure they're cooked cooked.
It is superrrr important that you don't stir the pot once wontons have been added into the boiling water. Wontons are extremely fragile the first 1 - 2 minute of the cooking process. So let the wontons be, they will sink to the bottom of the pot and touch each other. That's okay. Don't worry, they will float to the top.
If for any reason, the wontons are stuck at the bottom of the pot after about 4 minutes, gently wiggle them with a slotted spoon.
Make ahead - freezer friendly
Make extra and freeze half the portion for a rainy day. Or, make ahead of a special day such as.. Chinese New Year! It's just around the corner!
Here is how you freeze wontons
Only freeze uncooked wontons. To ensure wontons are not stuck together in the freezer:
- Lightly flour a baking tray (that can fit into your freezer)
- Place wontons in one single layer (no stacking!) onto the tray with a little space in between each one. This will make sure wontons freeze individually and not stuck together.
- Place the tray into the freezer.
- Once wontons are frozen, put them into a freezer bag or container for storage in the freezer.
These pork wontons last up to 3 months in the freezer. Any longer and they may get freezer burn.
Cooking frozen wontons
Cook frozen wontons in boiling water and they're ready once they float to the top. No need to thaw the wontons before cooking.
Tips for super yum pork wontons
- Go for fatty pork mince. The fat is key to juicy and omg so delicious wontons!
- Firmly press and seal the filling with the wrapper to ensure all the flavours stay inside the wontons.
- When boiling wontons,
- don't stir the pot, let the boiling water do its thing. This will lower the risk of any wontons to break apart.
- don't overcrowd the pot with wontons. Only add about one layer of wontons at a time. Cook in batches if you have to. This will stop wontons from sticking together (which might cause the wrappers to tear if you try to wiggle the wontons apart).
- For mega flavour bomb, serve wontons with a dipping sauce.
Wontons are also excellent appetisers/finger foods - they're great served on a Chinese soup spoon, with some dipping sauce and very finely sliced green scallions/spring onions. Like the pictures here. Looks super fancy and impressive. So next time you have a (small) get together at home, give this a go! I'm certain it'll be a hit with everyone!
Other delicious Asian recipes to try!
- Classic pork and cabbage pan-fried dumplings - my go-to flavour combo for dumplings
- Ginger beef and kale stir fry - learn how to turn cheap beef cuts into tender delicious beef slices
- The best homestyle soy sauce chicken drumsticks - traditional, proper home cooking at its best
- Chicken noodle stir fry - quick, easy and delicious noodles
Thank you for checking out my recipes! Let me know what you think and/or if you have any questions, drop me a note in the comments section below.🙂
Happy cooking!
Gen
📖 Recipe
Pork wontons
Simple and absolutely delicious. These pork wontons are super easy to make and packed full of flavour. Serve as is with a killer dipping sauce or in a soup!
4.72 from 49 votes
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Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 352kcal
Ingredients
- 1 packet wonton wrapper about 25 - 30 sheets
Wonton filling
- 400 g /1 lbs pork mince ideally fatty mince
- ½ cup scallion/spring onion finely chopped, about 3 bulbs
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine substitute: rice wine or mirin
- ½ teaspoon dark brown sugar substitute: caster sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
Ginger and vinegar dipping sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar substitute: rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ginger minced or thin matchsticks
Instructions
Dipping sauce
In a small saucer, combine all ingredients and mix with a teaspoon. Set aside.
Preparing the wonton filling
Add all the wonton filling ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly until well combined. Mix with either a fork or a pair of chopsticks.
Now, using the fork or chopsticks, mix mixture in a circular motion. Make sure to only mix in one direction, for about 3 - 4 minutes. The mixture will smell absolutely delicious at this point. (note 1)
Wrapping the wontons
Place about 1 teaspoon of wonton filling onto the centre of a wonton wrapper.
Bring all four corners of the wonton wrapper together towards the centre. Squeeze the wrapper just above the filling tightly with both hands, using the thumbs, index and middle fingers. Refer to how to video above.
It's crucial to ensure the wonton is tightly sealed before moving onto making the next wonton.
Repeat until all wontons have been wrapped. Makes about 25 - 30 delicious wontons.
Boiling wontons
In a large pot (one that you would use to make pasta) filled with water to about just over halfway and bring to boil.
Cook wontons in 2 batches - about 12 - 15 wontons in each batch. This will ensure the pot is not overcrowded. (note 2)
Once water is boiling, cook the first batch for about 4 minutes. Similar to ravioli, wontons are cooked once it floats to the top.
Once wontons are cooked, scoop onto a serving dish with a slotted spoon.
Cook the second batch.
Serve with the dipping sauce.
Video
Notes
Note 1. Mixing filling mixture in a circular motion, in one direction work the mince and create a paste-like texture instead of a crumbly texture you get straight from the butcher. Not only will this make wrapping the wontons easier (sticky paste filling are easier to handle), it will also ensure the filling is tender and juicy when cooked as you've worked all the liquids into the pork. Fun fact: this is the technique used in creating Chinese meatballs - beef, pork, seafood, you name it.
Note 2. Do not overcrowd the pot when cooking wontons a rule of thumb is to only add one layer of wontons into the pot at a time. This will ensure wontons are not stacked on top of each other - wontons are particularly fragile the first 1 - 2 minutes of the cooking process. Stacked wontons will increase the risk of wrappers breaking apart which means water will sip into the wontons = bland wontons. All the flavour will go into the water. We don't want that.
Note 3. Avoid stirring the pot / poking the wontons much when boiling allow the water to do its magic. Wontons require minimal interference when cooking. As mentioned, they're fragile the first couple of minutes of cooking. Stirring or poking the wontons will increase the risk of ripping the wrapper! Wontons will float to the top when they're cooked. If for any reason some decide to stick to the bottom of the pot, very gently move it with the slotted spoon to help it float to the top.
Freezing method only freeze uncooked wontons. If you've got the time, make double the portion and freeze one portion for a rainy day. To ensure wontons are not stuck together in the freezer:
- Lightly flour a baking tray (that can fit into your freezer)
- Place wontons in one single layer onto the tray with a little space in between each one. This will make sure wontons freeze individually and not stuck together.
- Place the tray into the freezer.
- Once wontons are frozen, put them into a freezer bag or container for storage in the freezer.
Wontons last up to 3 months in the freezer. Any longer they may get freezer burn.
Cooking frozen wontons: cook frozen wontons in boiling water and they're ready once they float to the top. Do not thaw the wontons before cooking.
Nutritional value estimate is for the wontons only, does not include the dipping sauce.
Tried this recipe?Mention @Casuallypeckish or tag #casuallypeckish!
Nutrition
Calories: 352kcal | Carbohydrates: 33.4g | Protein: 27.1g | Fat: 11.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 781mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg
