Sunday, March 21, 2010

Wontons with Sweet and Sour Sauce

My friend Tiffany opened my eyes up to the world of FRIED WONTONS. She makes the most delicious Thai wontons EVER! I got her recipe off her blog and did some online searching to compare. I fiddled with Tiffany's recipe a little and thought my experimental batch turned out pretty good. My sister's friend, Mayuko was visiting us from Japan when I made them and she approved! (She's really nice, so she totally could have been lying.) She said my batch turned out more like Chineese Wontons. I think next time I'll play around with them some more. They can be filled with whatever you fancy! Give it a try!!!!

Tiffany's Sweet and Sour Sauce:
You can make the sauce ahead of time. It takes all of five minutes.

1 C sugar
1/4 C vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 C water
1 T ketchup
2 T cornstarch, mixed with a little water (or sprinkle in Ultra-Gel until you like the consistency.)

In small pot add water, sugar, salt, and vinegar. On medium heat, slowly bring to boil. Once boiling, add ketchup and stir. Add cornstarch mixture or Ultra Gel gradually, stirring constantly until it thickens.
Remove from heat and keep in fridge until serving time.

Wonton Recipe:
I doubled this recipe and served it with veggies and rice for seven adults and three kids. There was BARELY enough! If you have leftovers, they microwave up good the next day. (Feel free to play with this till it suits your tastes!)

1/2-3/4 lb ground beef (or whatever ground meat you prefer, Pork is more authentic)
1 package cream cheese
2 cups shredded and chopped cabbage (keep the pieces small so they'll fold easily into the wonton skins)
1 tsp salt
2 T minced onion
1 tsp fish or soy sauce
1 egg (I've forgotten to add this and it turned out just fine)
3 T coriander
1/4 tsp garlic
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp pepper
1 package won ton skins*

*in my area, I've found wonton skins in the produce section of Albertson's and Wal-mart. I like the ones from Albertson's a little bit better because they are thinner skins.


I have step by step pictures or you can check out Tiffany's site. You basically mash all of the above ingredients like you would with a meat loaf. Then place only 1 TEASPOON of filling in the center of a wonton skin. Wet your fingers with water, and gently rub the edges of the wonton skin. You can follow the directions on the Wonton Packaging or get creative! I folded mine into the shape of a diaper. Because. I'm a mom. And that's what I see all day. Maybe my little brother can fold his into the shape of the Statue of Liberty. Anyway, folding them all up is the most time consuming part.

Once the wontons are all folded, throw small batches of them into a fryer (or pot of hot oil) until golden brown. Cut into the first one to make sure the meat is cooked all the way through. Dip them in the sauce and ENJOY!

Here are the directions in pictures:






The filling

The Wonton skins.


THE PROCESS:

Spoon a teaspoon of filling into the center of the wonton skin







Dip your finger into a cup of water and rub on the edges of TWO OPPOSITE SIDES. Water will seal the edges when folded together.



Folding. Gently press and seal.




Either pinch edges up like this, or try folding all the triangle's corners into the center for a diaper shape without the crispy edges.




The batch.



Fry until golden brown on both sides.




They are SO HOT for a long time, so let them cool before you take a bite!





Dip in sauce.


Enjoy!



SO GOOD!

Playdough


There are a lot of great playdough recipes out there: peanut butter playdough, Kool-aid playdough, oatmeal playdough, chocolate playdough... However, the thought of making the edible kinds makes me sick. Kids hands usually aren't the cleanest and I usually don't steralize the counter before busting playdough out! So, I just do the standard playdough recipe and add some food coloring. Here's my favorite:

2 cups water
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 cup salt
2 Tbs cream of tartar
Food coloring
Large Saucepan
2 cups flour

Directions
1. Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in pot and heat until warm. (You can omit the cream of tartar, but it helps the dough to last FOREVER.)
2. Remove from heat and add flour.
3. Stir and knead until smooth.
4. Store dough in a Ziploc bag.


There's lots of fun to be had!