I’ll caution you that I was going to do Olympic cupcakes. But that time it rolled around, the last thing I felt like doing was fashioning Olympic rings in the various colours out of chocolate. Let the athletes train for it, I’ll just stay on the lounge and watch. So these are my little shout out to the Olympics.
My mum rarely gives out recipes. For some mums, revealing their best recipe is akin to a magician revealing how they have done their tricks. They prefer to keep these close to the chest and leave a bit of mystery. It’s not restricted just to mums and I’ve seen it in people my age too. Not that I blame them, they’ve probably been asked to keep the valuable family recipes a secret, a physical or mental “vault” if you will.
It seems that everyone is dumpling mad lately and sometimes you just want to whip up a batch of soup with some greens and dumplings without having to leave the house. And at night temperatures in Sydney reaching -1 degrees (aren’t we supposed to be the sunburnt country?) the thought of going out some nights just pushes me towards the heater and the snug quilt. So for these nights, my mum has open up her recipe treasure trove and revealed her famous Wonton recipe (ok famous among her friends and family) which can also be adapted to make Siu Mai. These are excellent to freeze (use greaseproof paper between single layers) and popped into boiling water to cook.
The easiest part of this of course is making the filling. I buy the prawns shelled but whole so I blitz the prawns, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms and spring onions in the food processor to make a fine mince. After making the filling, that’s where the fun begins. You may want to enlist others into this part as it can take up to an hour to make the wontons or siu mai. The biggest mistake in the past I’ve found was overfilling the dumplings. Please resist all urge to overfill them, especially when you’re halfway through and realise that you’ve still got loads to make (making a giant one when you’re well and truly over it isn’t a great idea).
How many this makes exactly depends on the kind of dumplings you make. The plain soup dumpligns require less filling but the Siu Mai and Gow Gees require more. Also make sure the ingredients are minced well, the finer the mincing, the less likely that the skins will burst from “sharp” or large bits. And either cook them once they’re made or freeze them, if you pop these in the fridge as is, they skin will become moist and stick to the bottom and split when you try and prise them off. The only thing I can think to counter this is to flour the bottom of the tray that they sit on although I haven’t tried this.
NQN’s mum’s famous wontons or Siu Mai
Ingredients
- 500grams mince pork
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1.5 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoons light soya sauce
- 250grams prawn meat or 0.5 kg prawn in shell (minced)
- 4 shiitake mushrooms (diced)
- 3 stalks (green and white part trimmed) spring onion (shredded)
- 40g water chestnuts or bamboo shoots diced (optional)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil, some pepper
- 1.5 tablespoons cornflour
- 1.5 packets/70 sheets Wanton or Gow Gee pastry
Method
1. Put the mince pork in a large bowl. Add salt, sugar, soy sauce to the minced pork. Mix until meat become sticky.
2. Then add in minced prawn, spring onion, mushroom. egg, sesame oil, some pepper and cornflour. Mix thoroughly until the mixture is sticky.
3. Fill the Wonton pastry with the mixture for Wonton or cut the Wonton pastry into a circle and fill more meat mixture for Siu Mai.
4. Fill a pot with water and bring to the boil. Add wontons, not too many at a time, and cook until they float to the top. Serve with chicken broth with greens. Or for Siu Mai, place greaseproof paper at the bottom of a bamboo steamer and steam over a pot of boiling water.
Folding Wontons
Add small amount of wonton filling in centre of the pastry
Wet edges
Fold over to make a triangle
Press and seal edges gently but firmly
Grab the right hand corner and bring it to the centre corner, do the same for the left
Press both corners firmly but gently
Folding Gow Gees for steaming
Add wonton mixture and shape lengthwise
Moisten with water and fold over and start pleating at one end to the other
Making Siu Mai
Cut out rounds using a cookie cutter
Add filling in centre (more than with gow gees or wontons)
Add carrot on top (purely optional, for decoration but more appropriate than cupcake sprinkles in this case!)
If you enjoyed this post, why not share it with your friends?
Follow me
on Twitter
RSS
9 Comments | Add your own
those wontons look delicious but as my mother always said, the first cardinal rule of dumpling making, remove the nail polish.
Nice handy work NQN!
They look wonderful. It has been freezing hasn’t it?! I just want to hover over a hot bowl of dumplings and noodle soup. Beautiful pictures too!
Hey fellow foodie,
I think I’m ‘back’ and ready to have a steady dose of everything NQN. Rather than start from ‘way back’ I’ll begin with the most freshest things you’re sharing… that way I will feel more ‘in touch’ and I’ll work my way through the posts to catch-up because I hate the thought of missing out on something you’ve shared.. especially in light of your recent travels.
I’m personally grateful that you’ve shared this wonton recipe as it didn’t come easily
If ever I have not listed a recipe on my own blog, please know it’s just from laziness or thinking that nobody would be interested! If someone requests a recipe I then oblige..but yeah.. listing recipes is an area you’ve influenced me in.
My own standard wontons only ever have pork in them, but this recipe has made me think if I go to the trouble of shelling prawns and rehydrating shitake mushrooms, then I could be in for something really special
Also a great tip re: mincing everything finely. I usually have wonton casualties ie. burst skins, not even realising the wonton contents are the potential Miss Scarlett in the Kitchen with the Candlestick. I have successfully used the ‘flour method’ re: refrigerating the wontons uncooked. Then once steamed I’ve sprayed them with oil to store them in a bowl on top of one another and they’ve kept well before I’ve decided to reheat or fry them for a crispy result.
I love the step-by-step pics and the lacquerware in the photo’s! A blog friend of mine (or ‘blend’ as she calls us) recently returned from Vietnam with some lovely lacquerware. And the Siu Mai was something new to me too.
Hugs for you, missed you.
Love,
M.
what perfect little packets! tell your mom that we thank her for opening her vault!
These look REALLY good. I’ve made ravioli using wonton wrappers before, but I’ve never actually made wontons with them. Go figure!!
ps. As someone enjoying her rather brief Canadian summer, it still gives me a bit of a turn reading this, and hearing you talk about winter!
Hi jw-Thankfully I never get polish (or hair) in my food! Lucky (or just very careful) I guess!
Hi Maria-Thanks so much. Yes it has been hideously cold. I’d love to live in a giant bowl of soup really
Hi Maria-Welcome back!
I’d love to see your recipes, especially the Hungarian ones. I don’t have much experience in cooking Hungarian food so the chance to get a good recipe is very tempting to add it to my weekly rotation or dinner party!
Hehe Miss Scarlett-good analogy. I hate it when they burst so I try and do anything to stop that happening. And like you I had only used pork but adding the prawn gives it a lovely flavour
I love Japanese crockery and lacquerware!
Thanks so much, I missed you too!
Love,
L
Hi grace-Thanks! Hopefully she’ll be encouraged to reveal more!
Hi KatyBelle-Thankyou
They make great ravioli don’t they! I love making ravioli using them as they take less time (as you use 2 sheets per ravioli) and they are bigger and more filling. Lucky you having a Summer right now *sigh* 
Hi,
I’m looking forward to trying out these this weekend! Did you have the recipe for the broth part of the wonton noodle soup? That would make my dumpling/wonton/siu mai weekend bonanza complete!
Thanks in advance
p.s LOVE your blog & read it religiously!
Hi Vix-Excellent! It’s supposed to be cold so good weather for it
With the broth I usually use stock and add some pan juices from a roast to give it a bit of “body” (I keep all the pan juices whenever I make a roast) and then add sesame oil and white pepper.
Thanks so much! That’s so lovely of you to say and thanks for reading!
Post a Comment