Spicy Wontons

I have written about how difficult it is to put a western meal together so I find myself looking for recipes and ideas that use the ingredients that are readily available.  We both like Asian inspired dishes so that really isn't a big deal.  I stumbled upon a recipe a few weeks ago for a Spicy red oil wonton, YUM!  We love spicy and we love wontons, so it was a must try.

I can go to almost any grocery store in the U.S. and buy wonton wrappers.  I live in Taiwan, I assumed they would be a simple thing to find. That was my first  mistake....when in Taiwan, never assume. I tried all of my normal shopping choices and showed a picture I had googled on my phone, no one had them. 

When I explained to John that evidently you can't buy wonton wrappers in Taiwan he gave me a strange look and explained where he thought I should look in the grocery store.  Needless to say my response and the look I gave him are not appropriate for the blog.  Several days later and the idea of the spicy wonton still swirling around in his head he thought we should try the stores again, together.  We did and showed the picture again.  Finally we spoke to someone who told us they did not carry them, BUT told us where to go.  

Evidently we would need to visit a traditional market.  Luck would have it that we had seen and walked through a traditional market not far from where we were  a few days earlier.  The traditional market is open air and you can get all kinds of fresh produce, fresh seafood and the freshest of fresh meats. There are no live animals there, but I promise you, they have not been dead long.

Zane and I had had our fill of shopping for the day and when we were headed toward the market we saw a park and decided that we would let daddy search for the elusive wonton wrappers and we would wait on the slide.  

He was successful!  He bought a package of wrappers that I imagine were made in someone's kitchen that morning.  I will learn to make my own soon, Zane's babysitter has promised to teach me how.  But for now we will enjoy these, all tied up with a pink ribbon.

When we got home I went to work making the filling and sauce and putting it all together.  It turned out to be really good.  The recipe called for boiling the wontons but I chose to steam them.  Next time I will probably try boiling, they were a little tough, but still all disappeared! Here is the recipe if you want to try them at home.  And FYI wonton wrappers are usually in the produce section, but if you have trouble, try your local traditional market!

Spicy Red Oil Wontons

Ingredients:

20 wonton wrappers
1 small bowl of water, used to seal wontons
boiling water to cook wontons

Filling:

8oz ground pork
2 stalks scallion, finely chopped
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 dashes ground white pepper

Sauce:

1/3-1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar
2-3 Tbsp Chilli oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar

In a bowl, combine all the filling ingredients.  Set aside

Mix all the sauce ingredients together.  Set aside.

To wrap wontons, place about 1 tsp. of filling in the center of each wrapper.  Dab your finger into the small bowl of water and trace it around the edge of the wrapper.  This will help seal it up. Fold the wontons to make a triangle .  Pinch the edges to seal. Pinch and fold both corners of the wonton downwards.

Bring the water to a boil and gently drop the wontons into the water.  stir with a ladle to prevent sticking.  Boil until they float to the top, about 2 minutes.  Remove from water with a slotted spoon. Add desired amount of sauce to the wontons and toss.  Serve immediately.