This weekend marks the beginning of my "Asian cuisine" endeavours that I'll undertake until the end of the year - Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, almost all Asian countries will be included, except for India, where I'll dedicate a separate chapter...
I'm fortunate enough to have a deliciously little Asian shop near my house, so when I went there for the first time for the "truly Asian" ingredients, the shop-owners were more than helpful to show and explain and try to steer me away from danger...
So off to my first recipe: the wonton, as tasted through the aromatic and oh-so-soothing chicken stock...
Shrimp & pork wonton
adapted from Just one cookbook
little wontons emerging from a hot chicken stock |
125g raw shrimp, deveined and finely chopped
100g ground pork
2 green onions, finely chopped
Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 tsp sesame oil
Salt / pepper to taste
1 pkg wonton wrappers (I finally used about 20 wrappers, and I say about because I can't remember how many I ate in the making...)
For the soup
1 lt chicken stock
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
salt/pepper to taste
1 bok choy, cut in pieces
Heat soup with all ingredients, leave aside. To make the wonton filling, mix first four ingredients. I chopped the shrimp fine enough, but I think next time I'll pulse everything into a mash. Add the seasonings and mix again. Place one wonton wrapper on a work surface and put 1tsp of the mix in the middle. Moisten edges with water and fold. Seal so that no filling escapes while cooking (which happened to my first batch) and then fold the two edges - basically, like a tortellini. On how to wrap a wonton, I found this post very helpful.
When wontons are ready, reheat soup and cook 5-6 wontons at a time, for about 5 minutes. Set aside on a plate and on to the next batch. When all wontons were ready, add chopped bok choy to the soup, for extra flavour.
To serve, use small soup plates, and serve 2-3 (or 5-6 depending on the size) and slowly pour over some of the soup. Garnish with finely chopped green onion or chives. Believe, they taste so much better than the ready-bought ones - and this on my very first attempt!
This is the second post today that mentioned bok choy. As I said earlier, I made stir-fry this week, but next time, I might try this. I always have shrimp in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised at the bok choy's soft taste, and will be using quite a lot in this round of recipes!
Deletethis is going on my to-make list this week. I will be avidly following your Asian food posts...super yum.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're enjoying these recipes as much as I do!
DeleteThis looks wonderful! Last year, my book club read A Tiger in the Kitchen by Cheryl Lu-lien Tan and it encouraged me to stretch my palette and try more Asian food.
ReplyDeleteRebecca @ The Key to the Gate
That's an excellent story - good for you!
DeleteYum. I would love to try this sometime.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda!
DeleteYou're so lucky to have an Asian grocery nearby! I have to drive 40 minutes and rarely think to combine it with other errands in the area. This recipe looks delicious... would love to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI agree - when I was thinking about the recipes, I only knew of a store downtown, where honestly I would not go. But, thanks to googling, I came across feedback about a tiny bit of Asia right in my neighbourhood...
DeleteAll I can say is, yum! Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carole!
DeleteThose wontons look mighty good!
ReplyDeleteThanks Diane!
DeleteThose are beautiful! Such a great hot food on a cold day.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joy!
DeleteI am very impatiently waiting for an Asian dumpling cookbook to come in the mail. Maybe I'll try your recipe while I'm waiting for it to arrive!
ReplyDeleteGo for it!
DeleteI love steamed dumplings, but I've never tried to make them myself. May be a dangerous occupation, as I'm sure I'll want to make them all the time! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteTell me about it - must have eaten a third of the dumplings...
DeleteMmmm...I just love wontons. The shrimp and pork mixture sounds fantastic. That's some pure comfort food right there!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot!
DeleteI've not tried these as I thought they would be too hard, but after reading through your recipe, they do seem reasonable.
ReplyDeleteif you've ever had a go at filled pasta (ravioli, tortellini), it is the same procedure - pretty straightforward!
DeleteThis sounds yummy. I don't know if my culinary skills go that far but would love to try!
ReplyDeletethanks Hillary!
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