How To Make Sichuan Wontons
Jun 5th, 2009 by admin
Being Cantonese and with a preference for more delicate, subtle flavours, my repertoire of Sichuan dishes is miniscule (dan dan mian, Sichuan hot pot), although I do like to eat in Sichuan restaurants once in a while (Ba Shan, Chilli Cool, Bar Shu, Snazz Sichuan). During my stint in Beijing though, I had no alternative but to develop a taste for spicier food as there weren’t that many good, or even decent, restaurants thirteen years ago, and Sichuan restaurants did particularly well back then.
I like these Sichuan wontons, known locally as chao shou, which I had most recently at Ba Shan. Chao shou are ‘xiao chi’, literally small eats, and are a popular snack food. The good thing about making them yourself is that you have total control over the level of spiciness, although traditionally the accompanying sauce is supposed to be hot and spicy. And if you don’t like them mala, literally ‘numbing and spicy’, then don’t garnish with Sichuan peppercorns. I had intended to use these, but must have subconsciously forgotten it until I was halfway through my wontons! Personally, they weren’t missed.
I used Ken Hom’s recipe from his Taste of China book, written in 1989 after a long journey around the country, during which he collected many interesting recipes. I’m not so sure about the authenticity of some of the recipes in his other books, but I do recommend this book, for both the recipes as well as anecdotes and useful information gleaned from eating in people’s homes and visiting food markets (at a time when most restaurants were state-owned and terrible).
Ingredients: (serves 4 as part of a meal, or 2 as a single dish)
- 1 packet wonton wrappers, about 30 to 35 (the ones I bought from See Woo supermarket in London’s Chinatown were excellent, though I’m trying various brands to see which texture I prefer the most. NB these are square and not to be confused with spring roll or jiaozi wrappers!)
- 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, dry roasted and ground (as garnish)
Filling:
- 350g / 12oz minced pork (I hand mince my pork, which takes a bit longer, but you can buy it minced too)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
- 4 tbsp finely chopped spring onions
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp chilli oil (you can adjust to your own preference)
- 2 tsp Chinese black vinegar
- ¼ freshly ground black pepper
What to do next:
Combine pork, egg, sesame oil, salt & pepper in a large bowl and mix well. Using a teaspoon, add a small amount of filling in the centre of each wonton skin.
There are different ways of sealing and wrapping a wonton, but being a novice, I chose the easiest way and simply folded the wrapper into a triangular shape. You’ll need to use a little bit of water to dampen the edges and press them together.
Also remember to squeeze as much air as possible out of the wonton during the sealing process (otherwise you’ll see what happens during the boiling process!). And don’t overfill the wrapper. Although the wrapper is quite stretchy and malleable, it’s still delicate and you don’t want it to tear.
There were various sizes of wonton wrappers, and I chose the smallest for this dish, but there was still more than enough wrapper to create the lovely floaty folds.
Combine the garlic, spring onions, soy sauce, sugar, chilli oil, vinegar and pepper and mix well. You can add this to a large serving bowl or divide into smaller individual ones.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Hom doesn’t mention this, but it’s important to add a tablespoon or two of vegetable or groundnut oil to the water, as this prevents the wontons from sticking together. Add the wontons and simmer for 4 minutes. I stirred the water a couple of times just to make sure the wontons weren’t sticking together.
Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the serving bowls. Mix gently with the sauce, garnish with the Sichuan peppercorns (which should be dry roasted in a pan or wok to release the flavours before grinding with a pestle and mortar), and serve at once. Be warned, the raw garlic will give you super garlicky breath for at least 24 hours! But these are certainly worth it…
More Chinese recipes on World Foodie Guide here. The next recipe will be for Cantonese wonton noodles, right up my street!
Holy cow! These dumplings look so good! There’s a place near by me, called Sichuan Dumpling King that makes dumplings that bare some resemblance to these beauties.
I can only imagine how good they taste!
Shame about the meat…but lovely recipe!
Just curious, why do you hand mince the pork?
I used to make wontons when I was a kid with my mum but obviously had more nimble fingers then. When I recently made them I painstakingly folded them http://lizzieeatslondon.blogspot.com/2008/04/won-tons.html It took me bloody hours!
Wow, these look great, after my recent visit to Chilli Cool I was resigned to not being a fan of Sichuan food but I’ll definitely think about having a go at this recipe myself.
looks amazing. shall try w chicken (am a non pork person). thanks for posting
i love sichuanese food:-) It’s so spicy and nice..hehehe…i personally prefer non-cantonese food though the western world kinda only knows cantonese food, being non-cantonese myself, i personally prefer hokkien style food, teochew food, sichuanese food, and hunanese food as well…
WOW! So beautiful……..I’d love some for breakfast, now!
The sauce is lovely! Spicy and sour…delicious!
OysterCulture – thank you! They turned out a little larger than expected, but were rather tasty, even if I do say so myself…
MsMarmitelover – I have to make a vegetarian one for the husband now. Any finely chopped vegetables will do. I’m planning to use water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms and some greens, perhaps gai lan. Great for non-vegetarians too and much healthier.
Lizzie – I like to hand mince my meat because of my mother, who never buys minced meat. She prefers to buy a good quality cut and mince it herself. Once I did buy a box of mince that was organic and free-range, but apart from that, I mince my own organic and free-range pork tenderloin. Thanks for the link, will have to learn more about folding them! If you’re rushed for time, triangular is so easy though…
Boo – yes, you didn’t have the greatest time at Chilli Cool. It’s fun to make Sichuan food at home though. Neither my dan dan mian nor this have been oily…
exromana – chicken would work too, enjoy!
chinesechic – here in London, we’re gradually being introduced to different Chinese regional cuisines, which is great for me! The next post will be about Taiwanese/Hunanese food.
Timeless Gourmet & pigpigscorner – thank you!
Helen Yuet Ling
They look gorgeous, I really want to have a go at making them myself. I know what you mean about Ken Hom’s recipes though and that is coming from me – you know how limited my knowledge is in this area! I know many of his recipes are not authentic as I once saw him making a stir fry on TV and he used a jar of pesto in it! I have never been so confused…
Helen – they’re really not hard to make at all. Just make sure they’re sealed tightly so that the filling doesn’t leak. I’ve found a few recipes in Ken Hom’s Taste of China that I would happily replicate and adapt, but I would never buy any other books. His terrible attempt to make pan-fried dumplings on Saturday Kitchen on Chinese New Year made me rush to the kitchen to make my own!
Ooh these look so tasty! I love all the strong sichuan flavours. They pack such a flavourful punch. Without even tasting it, I know I’ll like that sauce. Yum!
I love chaoshou and their close cousin shuijiao but only if the sauce or “red-oil” has enough kick ! After reading your post, I was inspired to order some shuijiao in red-oil on Friday. Who knows, if I get a dexterity transplant I might get round to actually making some of these bad boys !
Forager – I hope you’ll like it. You can adjust the level of spiciness to your taste, but I think you’ll prefer it hot if you like Sichuan flavours!
Sung – it’s fun to make them! Where did you eat your shuijiao recently?
Wonton wrappers and I don’t get on ! I can just about make siu mai but my wontons are truly poor.
I had shuijiao as a starter at the Phoenix Palace – the red oil had a good kick (surprising for a Cantonese restaurant). Straying off topic a bit but I’m finally going to Pearl Liang for dim sum next week. I had a dinner there recently and the dim sum will be a treat if it’s as good as the evening menu. It’ll also be interesting to see how it compares to the Phoenix Palace which is my default dim sum choice but I know is somewhere you went off years ago.
Sung – actually I might revisit Phoenix Palace one day. I haven’t been in years now, so a review might be in order. I hope you like Pearl Liang. I also need to return to make sure the dim sum is still as good as it was when I was last there. Look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Helen Yuet Ling
I would gladly bear with garlic-breath for a bite of these (although I will be more prudent with the Sichuan peppercorns – my tastebuds are not yet well trained to that level of heat!) I’m so glad you clarified the type of wrapper to use; I’m still confused by the different kinds and have, on several occasions, chosen the wrong ones for the intended recipe. I’m learning, though, and I certainly don’t mind eating my mistakes!
Tangled Noodle – Sichuan peppercorns give you more of a numbing rather than a really spicy sensation (the chilli oil gives you this). But the garlic breath was certainly worth it! And I eat all my mistakes too!