Everybody Won Ton Tonight
Monday, August 29, 2005 12:18
Anyone who reads what I write on this website should know by now that I am a dumpling fanatic. Since moving out of LA, I have truly missed Din Tai Fung and Dumpling 10053. To add insult to injury, the “Chinese” restaurants here serve chop suey and egg foo young, so obviously, I’ve been really craving authentic Chinese food. I finally decided to throw an Asian potluck dinner party last night. Although that was the original theme, I wound up making dinner interactive. While I finished cooking the crab & lily bulb fried rice, chicken and vegetables potstickers, and green onion pancakes, I put my guests to work wrapping the pork wontons.
As soon as I got up in the morning, I started doing the basic prep work for the won ton filling. It really wasn’t too much work. I first mixed one pound of ground pork (which you may substitute for any other ground meat) with some finely chopped green onions. Next comes the marinade. Some people like to purchase marinades, but I prefer to know exactly what goes in them, so I always do my own. I added soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and rice wine to the mix, and after a thorough blend, let it sit in the fridge for about 8 hours. Once my guests showed up, I had won ton wrappers ready and egg wash ready. Wrappers can be purchased at your local grocery store (usually in the frozen section). Egg wash is just a beaten egg mixed with water. Water alone lacks the viscidity to seal the won ton wrapper, so you definitely need the egg wash instead.
I showed my guests how to place just a teaspoonful of the filling into the center and seal it up (with some help from the egg wash) in the shape of a triangle. The tough part was showing them how to twist the legs of the triangle to the head of the triangle. Nevertheless, they did it, and I’m pleased to say we had no won tons fall apart during the boiling process. (Add some bok choy to the soup if you desire.) The outcome didn’t come even close to the quality of Din Tai Fung’s won tons, but beggars can’t be choosers. I was very satisfied with the won tons we made, and more importantly, we had fun making them. I should also add that since we made over 50 won tons, I had plenty of uncooked ones left over, which are now residing in my freezer, ready to be cooked whenever I get hungry.
If you should decide to throw an Asian potluck of your own, and your guests don’t know what to bring (or vice versa), here are a few suggestions that worked very well at my party. Someone brought a simple green salad with a delicious ginger dressing. Another guest found plum wine (brand name Kinsen) that was delightfully sweet. As you can see from the photo, we just about finished the whole thing. One guest also went along with the interactive theme and had us all build our own Shrimp Spring Rolls. We filled our spring roll sheet with shrimp, rice stick noodles, cucumbers, lettuce, and mint. Served on the side was a top secret hoisin-based sauce. Of course, not all the guests brought Asian-themed food and beverage, but their contributions were equally appreciated.
By Pauline (see more of her posts).
Dylan says:
August 30th, 2005 at 12:18 am
hi pauline, did you make the green onion pancakes from scratch?
BestofLA says:
August 30th, 2005 at 1:29 pm
I love interactive meals! Great ideas for the upcoming three-day holiday weekend!
This past weekend, my boyfriend and I made sushi rolls with his family for dinner. There were plates of freshly sliced homegrown cucumbers, sliced avocados, sliced eggs, sprouts, and cuts of cooked ebi (shrimp), maguro (red tuna), shake (salmon), ika (squid), and white tuna. We each filled our nori (seaweed) sheets with sushi rice (mixed w/rice vinegar) and had hand rolls that we could dip in our shoyu with wasabi. I think I may have had at least five or six different rolls!! YUM!
Pauline says:
August 30th, 2005 at 2:09 pm
Hi Dylan - No, I had too many dishes planned and didn’t get a chance to make the pancakes from scratch. The way I usually make it though is:
I add hot water to flour, mix well, and then let it sit overnight in the fridge. The next day, I would roll the dough out and add the oil, salt, and green onions, re-knead the whole thing, and then roll it out again. Next cut the dough into 3-5 circles and then fry it up on the skillet.
BestofLA - YOU GO!!! Your sushi rolls sound great! Maybe that’ll be my next interactive dinner party. :)
Dylan says:
August 30th, 2005 at 6:00 pm
pauline, that sounds great. i have to try that. do you have exact measurements? i am terrible at baking/mixing anything.
Pauline says:
August 31st, 2005 at 1:24 pm
Sorry, Dylan… I stopped measuring this a long time ago. I’ve been eyeballing it for the last 9 years. I’ll try to find the exact measurements for you, but I’m guessing 5 cups flour, 1+1/2 to 2 cups water to start. If it is too moist to knead, keep adding 1/2 cup of flour until it’s just right. If it is too dry, do the same with water. Then the next day, add in as much green onions as you like. I throw in a lot for myself, and only use half a stem for people who aren’t crazy about onions. For the oil, I just keep pouring a bit of olive oil between kneading. The dough should be oily enough that it will leave a slight oil residue on a surface, but not so oily that the dough looks glossy.
I know this isn’t the measurement/break down you’re looking for, but I hope this helps. With about 5 cups of flour, I think you are looking at 2-4 slices of pancakes (depending on how thin you roll the dough out and how wide in diameter you cut the pancakes). Hope this helps at least a little.
Dylan says:
August 31st, 2005 at 3:09 pm
definitely helps out. thank you. have you ever had these taiwanese style w/ a fried egg on top of it? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Pauline says:
August 31st, 2005 at 4:19 pm
Have you in peeking in my kitchen? Actually, what I sometimes do is fold an egg in it. After one side of the pancake is golden, I flip the pancake and crack an egg on the golden side. Then I quickly fold one side of the pancake to the other (forming a semi circle with the egg in between). After both sides of the semi circle are golden, I eat what I like to call the “Taiwanese Green Onion & Egg Sandwich.”
Dylan says:
September 1st, 2005 at 11:09 am
that deserves another mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. i fry one side and crack an egg on top of the raw side and just flip it over. i lather it w/ a little maggi sauce and sriracha chili garlic sauce.