Chicken & Prawn Wontons

While taking a bag of pre-made dumplings from the freezer isn’t necessarily a sin, it’s fair to say they don’t compare to the ones you make yourself.

Yes, they’re a little bit fiddly to fold, but the prep time isn’t high. My favourite kind of wonton includes a fatty mince (chicken or pork) with chopped up prawns. You can blend your mince and prawns together in a blender, but sometimes I find this makes the texture a shade too one-dimensional; I prefer to dice the prawns and have them mixed in with the spring onions, garlic, ginger and the mince.

It’s easy to simply boil them in a large pot of water. Scoop out after a few minutes, drain them, and then add to the plate and top with the necessary condiments: soy sauce, vinegar, chilli oil, fried onions, sesame oil … whatever tickles your fancy. 

I unwittingly discovered an excellent pairing for wontons: vermentino. Viognier would work equally well, as long as it’s not too slick or oily. Go for a savoury white with a long finish. That way, it easily takes on the chilli, soy and vinegar sauces served here.

Ingredients:

• 1 x pack wonton wrappers 

• 80gm chicken mince 

• 80gm prawns, diced 

• 1 spring onion stem, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, minced 

• dash of sesame oil 

• sprinkle of cornstarch 

Method:

• Mix all ingredients together except the wonton wrappers. Grab yourself a small bowl of water for your fingers.

• Place a small spoonful of the chicken and prawn mixture onto the middle of the wonton wrapper. Dab a little water onto the corners of the skin with a finger and fold diagonally. Make sure it stays in-tact. Once folded, you can then tie the corners together (to give the tortellini / wonton appearance). Repeat until your run out of mixture.
• Add to boiling water and cook until they float and the inside is cooked; at least 3-4 minutes. 

• Add to plate, and top with condiments of your choice.