Gong hei fat choy! Sichuan Style Wonton in Chilli oil

 Following on from the Chinese takeaway style soup in my previous post, here's another dish for Chinese New Year! These are Sichuan style Wonton dressed in chilli oil (I also shoved some mini scallops in too for an extra celebratory feel!). Whilst this dish doesn't take long to cook, the prep is time-consuming and fiddly so it definitely feels like it should be for a special occasion. 

I used pre-made Wonton wrappers from my local Oriental Supermarket and a prepared Chilli oil, however, if you're feeling really extra you can make your own. Personally, I don't feel the effort of homemade Wonton wrappers is worth it, these are super cheap and can be found in the frozen section usually. If you REALLY want to cheat- you can buy some pre-made wonton and just make the sauce yourself. ZERO judgement from me! 

Feel free to use whatever you like in the filling however it is traditional to use Pork, but for non-pork eaters, you can sub for chicken mince, Shrimp mince or beef mince.

I love spicy food and can handle the heat of chilli, however, Sichuan Pepper is a WHOLE new ball game! The numbing effect of Sichuan peppercorn gives this dish its distinctive flavour and mouthfeel. 

You will need: 

For the Wonton 

• 1 packet of Wonton Wrappers defrosted. 
• 250g of Pork Mince (or preferred alternative) 
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped cabbage 
• 1 tbsp of Shaoxing Rice Wine 
• 1 egg 
• 2 spring onions finely diced 
• Pinch of White Pepper 
• 1 tsp of Light Soy sauce. 
• 1 tbsp Cornflour + extra for dusting 
• Small dish of water 
• Small pastry brush 
• Large deep Frying pan with a lid or Wok. 

For the Sauce:

• 2 Cloves of Garlic - minced 
• 1 inch of Ginger peeled and grated. 
• 3 spring onions finely sliced. 
• Freshly boiled water 
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce 
• 1/4 tsp of Sichuan Pepper 
• 1 tbsp of Chilli Oil (with bits in!) I use Lee Kum Lee Chiu Chow Chilli Oil. 
• 1 tsp of Sugar 

How to make the Wonton:

1. In a large bowl, mix in your Mince, cabbage, rice wine, soy, pepper and spring onion until the mince is like a paste.
2. Add in your egg & Cornflour and mix again until the mixture is wet and sloppy (I know this doesn't sound appetising but it's necessary). 
3. Ideally, do this in advance so the flavours have a chance to develop. But if not just before you wrap is fine. 
4. Lightly dust a surface with cornflour and get a small dish of water ready. 
5. For each Wonton, take a level teaspoon and pop a blob of filling in the middle of your wrapper. 
6. Dampen the edges of your wrapper and fold into a filled triangle, making sure the edges are sealed and there are no air bubbles inside. Take the two outside points and bring these together. For alternative ways to wrap wonton this video is great! 
7. Repeat for each of your Wonton until you run out of filling. 
8. When you're ready to cook, heat water in your frying pan/wok and pop the wonton in, carefully moving them with a wooden spoon so they don't stick to the bottom. 
9. Once the water is at a boil and the wonton float to the top keep cooking them with the lid on for another minute. 
10. Drain and get ready to serve your Oil. 

How to make the sauce:

1. In a small dish pop in the ginger and spring onion. Pour over freshly boiled water and leave it to rest for 5 mins. 
2. In a separate dish combine the minced garlic, Sichuan Pepper, Chilli Oil, Sugar and Soy Sauce. 
3. Just before serving, drain the water from the Ginger and spring onion and mix into the rest of the sauce. 
4. When your Wonton are freshly drained out of the pan, plonk them into the sauce and stir to coat everything. 
5. Sprinkle on some freshly chopped spring onion and Serve! 

Enjoy!! 

Char 

xxx