I’ve wanted to make fried wontons for SO long! But omg it’s really hard to get wonton wrappers here in Chile. Right now with COVID-19, it’s even worse because I usually get them in large markets downtown. So I decided I was going to make the wonton wrappers myself, fill them with shrimp and fry them up. ¡They’re so delicious! You’ll love them.
Here in Chile it can be difficult to find wonton wrappers. Sometimes I find at the supermarket, but usually I have to go to a market downtown. Now with lockdown it’s more difficult so I decided it was time that I learned how to make them myself! It’s not hard to do at all. The rolling out and cutting of the dough is a bit tedious but nothing too bad. Of course, you can also make these fried wontons with store-bough wrappers. There are many ways to fold wontons. In Perú actually, it’s just a triangle! But if you look online you’ll find many ways to do it.
The filling is really simple with shrimp and sesame oil. The shrimp can also be replaced with langoustines or even pork or chicken if you prefer. The last two would be ground. I promise that the filling doesn’t need anything else, it’s perfect like this. If you’re using shrimps or langoustines, make sure that they’re raw and that they’re clean and peeled. If they’re not, you should clean (by removing the “vein” that goes down the back) and peel them yourself. That “vein” is actually an intestine with the shrimp’s digestive waste that has sand and other yucky sea bottom stuff. If you like shrimp, I also recommend my panko and peanut crusted shrimp.
Ingredients
For the wonton wrappers
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 90 ml water
- Cornstarch to roll out
For the filling
- 500 g raw shrimp, peeled and deveined. It can also be langoustines or ground pork or chicken.
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
To fry
- 600 ml vegetable oil, I use Canola you'll need more if your pot is larger.
Instructions
For the wonton wrappers
- Mix the flour with the salt in a bowl. You can use a fork or spatula.
- Form a hole at the centre of the flour and add the eggs and water.
- Mix from the inside, slowly incorporating the dry ingredients from the sides. When the spatula or fork doesn't help you anymore, use your hands to finish mixing.
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it turns elastic. If you feel that the dough is too dry, dampen your hands and continue kneading. If you feel it's too sticky, dust flour on your surface. Just add a tiny bit of water or flour in each case, it makes a big difference.
- Let the dough rest, covered, for 1 hour.
- Work in sections to prevent the dough from drying out. I worked with about 1/6 of the dough at a time, approximately. Dust your surface with cornstarch and roll out the dough. Every once in a while, dust more cornstarch as needed. It's normal that the dough springs back when you roll it, it takes a bit of patience.
- Once it's 1mm thick, cut the dough in 10cm/4in squares. Stack them with plenty of cornstarch between them. Repeat the process until you have used up all of the dough.
- To bring together all the scraps of dough, dampen your hands and knead it until it comes together. Let it rest for one hour again before rolling it out. In the meantime, you can fill up the rest of the wrappers.
- You can freeze the dough at this point as rolled out squares for up to a month in an airtight container.
For the filling
- With the side of a knife, crush the shrimp against a chopping board, this will destroy them slightly. Then run your knife a couple of times through them. We don't want to turn them into a purée, the bits are delicious! Alternatively, you can use a food processor, but again, don't turn them into a purée.
- Add the sesame oil, sat and pepper and mix.
Assembly
- Place about a tablespoon of the filling at the centre of a wonton wrapper. With a wet finger, dampen the edges and fold them over to form a triangle. Remove as much air as possible as press on the edges to seal the wontons.
- Fold the edges towards the centre and stick them to each other using a bit of water.
To fry
- Heat the oil until it has a temperature between 180-190°C/350-375°F. If you don't own an oil thermometer, try with one wonton first. It should take 2-3 minutes to become completely golden. If it takes less than that, it will be golden but not crispy and if it takes more, it will absorb too much oil.
- As you remove them from the oil, place them in a bowl with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Serve immediately with soy sauce, tamarind or whatever else you prefer.
