Wayback Wontons

As mentioned before, I made wontons for my audition tape. I did this because this was one of my earliest memories of cooking more than searing a steak on the Jenn-Aire grill and making rice in the cooker. Hence the "wayback".

When I was a child, my mother and I would spend a Saturday afternoon making wontons. I really enjoyed the time but most of all I enjoyed eating them! Funny, I'm still the same way.

Below is my "recipe" for the filling. I included the quote marks on purpose because most of my Chinese cooking is done by sense, not be recipe. If it looks right, smells right, tastes right, etc. Now, while I don't recommend tasting the raw meat, you can cook a bit of it and adjust seasoning accordingly. In the wayback days, the ingredients list would include a shake or two of MSG or Accent seasoning as it really does enhance the flavor. If you've still got it in your spice rack, use it and start with less salt. If you want to try it, you can still find it in the Asian markets. When you are seasoning, remember that it is easy to add more flavor but you cannot take it away. Well, in this case you kinda can by adding more meat, but then that just makes more work!

Pork Wontons

One pound unseasoned ground pork, raw
1/2 cup soft tofu (optional)
3-4 medium dried shitake mushrooms, reconstituted in hot (not boiling) water, stems removed and then minced
2 TBSP finely chopped green onion
1 TBSP fresh garlic, finely minced
1 TBSP grated or finely minced ginger - remember to remove the skin!
1 TBSP soy sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 dz medium raw shrimp (40 count size)cut into thirds and set aside
1 pkg of wonton wrappers, thick or thin, your choice
1 ramekin or other small bowl of warm water

In a large bowl combine all items together except for the shrimp. It is best to use your hands and make sure all ingredients are combined together but do not overwork as it will make the meat tough. If you add the tofu, it will help soften the meat and keep it moist.

Set up your work area so that you have the wrappers, meat and shrimp all within easy reach. I also suggest lining a cooking sheet with parchment paper that you can place the finished wontons on for easy freezing.

Take a wrapper and put it in one palm with the heavily floured side up. Using chopsticks or a fork, place about 1 well rounded teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center and one piece of shrimp. Take your fingers and gently wet the wrapper from the pork out to the edges. The water and the flour will form the glue that will hold everything together.

Form a triangle by bringing together two opposite corners of the wrapper. Starting from the meat, gently press together the two sides, squeezing out all the excess air and water. When cooked, air pockets will cause your wontons to explode, so do you best to remove as much as possible. Then take the two corners of the "base" of the triangles and cross them together over the top of the meatball and squeeze them together forming a "bow" over the top of the meatball. This is demonstrated in the video. Placed the finished wonton on the parchment and repeat.

Once you are finished, freeze the wontons on the cookie sheet. You can store them in a container or freezer bag to use as needed. To cook, simply drop as many as desired into boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes or in similar fashion to ravioli, until they float.

Serve them in your favorite broth with some fresh baby bok choy, bean sprouts and fresh shitake mushrooms; enhance Top Ramen by adding the frozen wontons to the boiling water a minute or two before adding the noodles (a personal favorite); or by themselves with a dipping sauce on the side. In our house, the dipping sauce of choice is Chiu Chow Chili Oil mixed with a little soy sauce. You can find this hot chili sauce at many grocery stores with a large Asian food section or online at Amazon.com. Last but not least, you can deep fry and eat as finger food - no chopstix required!