How to make fried wontons with sweet-and-sour sauce a guaranteed crowd pleaser
30 grams dried shiitake mushrooms, three to four, depending on size
700 grams minced pork
40ml light soy sauce
30ml rice wine
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp finely ground white pepper
5ml sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
15 grams peeled ginger
5 fresh water chestnuts
3-5 spring onions
A small handful of fresh coriander leaves
About 60 wonton skins
Cooking oil, as necessary
1 Briefly rinse the dried shiitake under cool running water, then place in a bowl. Pour warm water into the bowl until the mushrooms can swim in the liquid and soak for about two hours, or until they are fully hydrated.
2 While the mushrooms are soaking, put the pork into a medium-sized bowl and add the soy sauce, rice wine, salt, sugar, pepper, sesame oil and cornstarch. Mix thoroughly.
3 Finely mince the ginger. Peel the water chestnuts, rinsing well to remove any dirt, and cut into rough dice. Mince the spring onions and roughly chop the coriander. Squeeze the excess water from the rehydrated mushrooms and remove and discard the stems. Cut the mushroom caps into small cubes. Add the ginger, water chestnut, spring onion, coriander and mushroom to the pork and combine thoroughly.
4 Lay about half the wonton skins on a work surface, keeping the rest wrapped so they don’t dry out. Fill a small dish with water for dampening the skins when making the wontons.
5 Place a wonton skin on the palm of your left hand (if you are right-handed), with one corner facing you. Put a heaped teaspoonful of the filling onto the skin, about 2cm from the near corner. Fold the near corner over the filling, then fold up the skin one more time, working towards the far corner.
Squeeze out the excess air from the sides of the skin, then bring them round to meet at the bottom. Dampen one side of the skin and press the other side over it, overlapping slightly, firmly pressing the layers of wonton skin so they adhere.
Alternatively, use your own preferred folding technique. Once folded, place the wontons on a tray, making sure they don’t touch each other. Do the same with the remaining pork and wrappers.
6 Pour oil into a wok to a depth of about 10cm. Place the wok over a medium-high flame and heat until the oil reaches 180 degrees Celsius.
7 Fry the wontons in batches, cooking them for three to five minutes or until the skin is medium brown and the filling is fully cooked. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the oil at about 180 degrees; if the wontons brown before the filling is cooked, reduce the heat to 170-175 degrees. Drain the wontons on paper towels.
8 Stack the wontons on a platter and serve with sweet-and-sour sauce.
Sweet-and-sour sauce
This is a classic accompaniment to fried wontons. If you wish, make a second sauce by rehydrating Colman’s mustard powder with water, according to the packet instructions, then allow it to sit for a few minutes and mix with light soy sauce, to taste. Serve in small bowls, warning your guests it’s a strong sauce and should be used sparingly.
200 grams granulated sugar
200ml vinegar, or more to taste
100 grams ketchup
10 grams cornstarch
¼ tsp finely ground white pepper
1 Put the sugar, vinegar and ketchup in a saucepan placed over a low flame. Heat until simmering, whisking almost constantly.
2 Put the cornstarch in a bowl and add about 20ml of cold water. Stir until smooth. While the sugar-vinegar-ketchup mixture is simmering, pour in the cornstarch slurry, whisking constantly. Simmer for a few minutes, or until the mixture has a light coating consistency. Whisk in the pepper, then taste for seasoning, adding more vinegar, if necessary. Pour into bowls and serve with the wontons.
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