Pork Wonton in Spicy Sesame Sauce

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2021, baby! LEGGO!

In Chinese culture, dumplings are a traditional new years dish. We eat them around the calendar new year and especially around the lunar new year. Dumplings not only symbolize family togetherness in the new year, but they actually require togetherness as you prepare the dumplings around the dinner table.

As I am sure you are already aware, dumplings come in all shapes, sizes and flavors. Today we’re making wontons, which literally translates into “cloud swallow”. As the name suggests, they are soft bite-sized, tender dumplings. So keep that in mind that they’re meant to be small as you sit down to make these.

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Wonton can be served in soup, often with noodles, sliced meats, and blanched veggies. Or they can be served “dry”, which just means they’re not swimming in broth.

These pork-filled wontons are served drizzled with a creamy, spicy sesame sauce. If you’re like me and love the flavor of sesame, you’ll be happy to know there are THREE types of sesame in this dish — sesame oil, sesame paste, and whole sesame seeds.

If you are running low of sesame paste or would like to change it up, the sauce is equally as delicious using creamy peanut butter. Of course the flavor won’t be exactly the same, but I guarantee you’ll be just as happy in the end.

There are a few traditional Chinese ingredients listed which you may not be as familiar with like Shaoxing wine or Chinese black vinegar. I’ve done my best to provide substitution options; however, if you plan to make Chinese dishes even somewhat frequently, I do suggest picking up these ingredients for the most authentic and flavorful taste.

I do hope you give these pork wontons in spicy sesame sauce a try! They’re super easy and, honestly, a wonderful dish for any time of the year. Just be sure to grab a friend or two to make the wrapping go a little faster; you can pay them in dumplings later!

Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy New Year! May your days be filled with delicious dumplings!

The Recipe

Makes 2 main or 4 side-sized servings (about 32 dumplings)

Ingredients

Pork Wontons

8 oz. ground pork

1 scallion, finely chopped 

¾ teaspoon sesame oil (🔥Open Sesame)

1 ¼ teaspoon soy sauce

2 ½ teaspoons Shaoxing wine (🔥Swap-a-roo)

½ teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

¼ teaspoon fresh ground white pepper (🔥Particular Pepper)

1 package of wonton wrappers, preferably thin wrappers

Spicy Sesame Sauce 

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1-2 tablespoon Chinese sesame paste, or tahini (🔥Go Nuts!)

1 tablespoon chili oil from a jar of chili crisp (plus 2 teaspoons of the chilis for extra spiciness)

2 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon ground white

2-4 tablespoons water

Garnish

1 scallion, green parts only, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon of roughly chopped cilantro

Black or white sesame seeds

Instructions

Make wonton filling

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fill a small bowl with some water.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the ground pork, scallions, sesame oil, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, oil, and white pepper together in a bowl. Mix until well combined.

Fold wontons

1. Place about a teaspoon of filling in the center of a wonton wrapper — it’s better to underfill than overfill or they risk exploding when boiled. (🎩Edible Origami)

2. Use your index finger to paint a little water along 2 consecutive edges. Next, fold the wontons in half, pressing along the edges to enclose the filling into a triangle.

3. Dab a little water on one of the corners, then bring bring the two corners together and press to hold its shape (see photo above for more details).

4. Place finished wontons on the parchment paper and continue folding until all the filling is used.

Make spicy sesame sauce

1. Heat vegetable oil and garlic in a small skillet over medium heat. Once the garlic smells fragrant, turn off the heat before they brown.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or tahini, then the chili oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, white pepper and 2 tablespoons of water. Stir to combine.

3. Taste and add peanut butter or tahini to your preference. You may also add additional water to thin the sauce — it should be thin and runny, not thick.

Cook wontons

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium.

2. Working in batches of 8-12 wontons, gently cook the dumplings in the boiling water (🎩The Key To Cooking Wontons). When the wontons float they’re done. Use a slotted spoon to drain and transfer wontons to a serving bowl or plates.

Assemble and serve

1. Once all the wontons are cooked, drizzle spicy sauce over the wontons, then garnish with scallions and/or cilantro and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Storage and reheating:

• Fresh uncooked wontons can be kept in the refrigerator in a single layer on a tray, covered for up to 1 day.

• To freeze wontons, arrange the fresh wontons in a single layer on a tray lined with parchment paper. Ensure they are not touching. Freeze for 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer bag. Frozen wontons will keep for 6 months. Cooking method is the same for fresh or frozen wontons.

• Cooked wontons are best eaten within 1 hour of cooking. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container for up to 5 days, however the skins will be soggy. To reheat cooked wontons, microwave until warmed through.

Hot Tips 🔥

• OPEN SESAME — If possible, use Asian sesame oils which are made using toasted sesame seeds. Toasted seeds produce more fragrant and flavorful oils so look for darker sesame oil for maximum flavor. If you do not have asian sesame oil, regular sesame oil will do! The dish will just have a less pronounced sesame flavor in the end.

• SWAP-A-ROO — For the most authentic flavor, Shaoxing wine is a must. I highly suggest purchasing a bottle to use for making any stir fry; it keeps forever and is inexpensive. However, if you do not want or do not have Shaoxing wine, you may swap in 1½ teaspoons of an inexpensive UNPEATED whiskey (I use this Canadian Black Velvet but Jack Daniels also works). Be sure the whiskey isn’t smoky or peated or you will ruin the dumplings.

• PARTICULAR PEPPER — The flavor of white pepper is very distinct so please do not swap in other peppers like red or black. If you don’t have white pepper, just omit.

• GO NUTS — You may swap in creamy peanut butter. The flavor will of course be different, but it’s equally delicious.

Tricks 🎩

• THE KEY TO COOKING WONTONS — Keep an eye on the water— the dumplings require a gentle boil so adjusting the heat to ensure the water remains hot but calm. This is the key to cooking wontons; turbulent water will break the wonton skins open.

• EDIBLE ORIGAMI — It’s best to start with a small amount of filling if you are new to wonton folding. This way, you can practice without having to worry about the filling exploding! As you become more comfortable, you can increase the filling amount — just keep in mind it is very easy to over-fill the wontons!