Recipe: Wontons

Sometimes I miss my mom, and when I can't get home to see her, I tend to make food that reminds me of home. Wontons were popular growing up, but usually served in soup. On my last trip to Flushing I discovered wontons in this style at White Bear and I've never looked back.

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb ground pork
• 1/2 lb shrimp
• 1/2 head of medium sized napa cabbage
• 1 T of minced ginger
• 2 T of minced scallion
• 2 t of sesame oil (if you like sesame oil like I do, add some extra)
• 1 t of white pepper
• 1 1/2 T of soy sauce
• 2-3 T of sake
• 1 package of wonton rappers

First, dice your cabbage finely. You can use a food processor if it's easier, but I find using a knife is faster for me. Add some salt to the cabbage, mix it, and let it sit - you want to release some of the water in the vegetable. 

Next you want to mince your scallion and ginger together. Then, you want to mince your shrimp (you basically want to chop it until it looks like ground shrimp). I like to chop the scallion and ginger right into the shrimp - I feel like I'm incorporating the ingredients better.

In a bowl mix together the ground pork, your shrimp mixture, the sesame oil, white pepper, soy sauce, and sake. Take your cabbage and squeeze it out over the sink to get out the extra moisture. Add the "dehydrated" cabbage into meat mixture. Mix like a crazy person until your filling looks uniform.

Now to make the wontons: I present to you my first ever video tutorial, filmed by Joe. I fold them this way, but you don't have to. Before you fold them - put some water on the stove to boil. By the time you have made enough for dinner, your water should be boiling (if not, you are fast or don't eat a lot).

When the water is boiling, add your wontons while stirring. Once they start floating I like to let them cook for another couple of minutes to ensure they are cooked through. I usually cut one open to make sure before I take them all out.

Once they're done I like to top them with the below hot oil and chili and fried garlic sauce. You can always have them in soup. If you're feeling aggressive you can fry them. I find them to be delicious with just some hot oil.

Go back for seconds - they're healthy. Sort of.