Kick off Chinese New Year with wontons
No matter when you celebrate the new year — the Thai have Songkran in April, Ethiopians have Enkutatash in September and Iranians have Nowruz in March — you can always count on a giant gathering of friends and family with food being one of the main attractions.
Chinese New Year, on Feb. 8 this year, is no exception as tables are crowded with roast pigs, whole steamed fish, wok-fried lobsters and mountains of noodles.
But if your party is smaller than that, here’s a recipe for my mom’s Shanghai-style wontons that she learned to make from her mom. The reason we eat dumplings on Chinese New Year is that they resemble sycee, a form of old Chinese currency that’s basically little nuggets of gold and silver. Eating these dumplings is said to encourage wealth, just as eating long strands of noodles is said to promote longevity; as if we need another reason to eat a delicious bowl of wontons and noodles!
Folding dumplings for the first time can be awkward but once you get the muscle memory, it becomes second nature and rather relaxing and would actually make for a fun cheap date; the ingredients to make 40 wontons costs less than $15. These dumplings can be served two ways: boiled in chicken broth with leafy greens or pan-fried and served with your favourite dipping sauces.
Karon’s Mom’s Traditional Chinese Wontons
Star Tested This recipe calls for raw sugar: a large crystal sugar that is light brown with a slight molasses flavour. It is also called turbinado and is basically sugar cane juice that has been boiled once (white sugar is made by boiling cane juice many times).
1/2 cup (125 mL) soy sauce 1 tsp (5 mL) raw sugar 1/4 cup (60 mL) cornstarch 1/4 cup (60 mL) water 1 lb. (454 grams) ground lean pork 6 cups (1.5 L) finely shredded napa cabbage, spun dry 1 lb. package (454 grams) wonton wrappers (store-bought)
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch and water until cornstarch and sugar have dissolved.
Add pork and mix well until meat has absorbed liquids. Mix in cabbage.
Spoon a tablespoon of filling into centre of wrapper. Fold edge of wrapper over filling and tuck under meat, similar to rolling a spring roll halfway. Make sure filling does not spill out edges of wrapper. Moisten fingers with water and pinch rolled part of wrapper closed, sealing in filling. Fold pinched ends together until they overlap and press together with moistened fingers, forming a dumpling. Repeat until all wrappers are used up.
Makes about 40 wontons.
Pan-fried wontons
Star Tested Wontons aren’t technically potstickers, or jiaozi, as the latter have a thicker wrapper and flatter shape than wontons but nonetheless, they’re tasty when pan-fried to a golden-brown crisp. Eat them plain or dip them in your favourite sauces. My favourite is a traditional mix of black vinegar with freshly minced ginger, though once in a while I’ll get a craving to douse everything in sriracha.
2 tsp (10 mL) vegetable or canola oil 10-12 freshly made wontons 1 1/4 cups (310 mL) water Soy sauce, black vinegar or peanut sauce for dipping
Heat oil in medium-sized frying pan over medium-high heat. Place wontons on pan and pan-fry until bot- toms begin to brown, about one minute.
Add enough water to submerge wontons halfway. Cover and bring water to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking covered until water has mostly evaporated, about 15 to 20 minutes, occasionally shaking the pan to prevent dumplings from sticking. When most of water has evaporated, lift cover and flip dumplings over to slightly brown and evaporate remaining liquids in pan, about one minute. Serve at once with dipping sauces. Makes 1 serving.
Soup wontons
Star Tested My mom recommends first boiling the wontons in water before cooking them in the broth in order to get rid of the excess flour on the wrappers. Shanghai-style wontons are typically served in a light broth without noodles, but feel free to add noodles or cook them in a spicy chili broth.
10-12 freshly made wontons 2 cups (500 mL) low-sodium chicken broth 1/4 tsp (2 mL) table salt 2 cups (500 mL) Chinese greens such as bok choy, gai lan (Chinese broccoli) or yau choy (rapeseed greens)
Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a roaring boil over medium-high heat. Place dumplings into pot and bring back to a roaring boil. Cook for one minute.
Meanwhile, in a small pot bring broth and salt to a roaring boil over medium-high heat. Transfer wontons to boiling broth, reduce heat to medium, and bring back to a boil, about five minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking covered for five minutes. Transfer wontons to serving bowl.
With broth still boiling, cook greens until just tender, about one minute. Transfer greens to serving bowl with wontons and pour broth into bowl. Serve immediately.
Makes 1 serving.
It literally pays to be single: The one tradition that kids, teens and anyone who’s unmarried look forward to most during Chinese New Year is receiving red pockets: red envelopes stuffed with cash given out by married couples and relatives. As per tradition, as a single person you’re exempt from doling out cash and all you have to do is wish your elders joy and prosperity to receive wads of fives and tens. Freeze your wontons: 40 wontons is too much for one serving, though I have been known to eat 30 at a time. Freeze leftover wontons and pop them into a pot of boiling broth for a quick weeknight dinner. Mix your fillings: Play around with different vegetables and meats the next time you make dumplings. Try lamb or chicken or add chives and green onions to your fillings. Your spirit animal: There are 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac and unlike the modern astrological zodiac, the Chinese zodiac changes year-to-year rather than month-tomonth. This year, 2016, is the year of the monkey, so if you’re turning 12, 24, 36 or any age that’s a multiple of 12 it’s your year (since there are 12 animals to cycle through, the calendar falls on your year once every dozen years). After 2016, it’ll be the year of the rooster, followed by the dog, pig, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, and then back to the monkey. karonliu@thestar.ca