Hot and sour wontons are one of those dishes that make it almost impossible to settle for a bland meal. Tender dumplings swimming in chili oil, black vinegar, garlic, and spice: sharp, rich, and unapologetically bold. Learning to make them at home felt less like a project and more like a necessity.
For the wontons:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 green onions (or Chinese chives), minced
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 40-50 square wonton wrappers
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup chile oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar or a mixture of 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
To serve:
- 2 tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts
- Small handful cilantro leaves, chopped
- Make the sauce: Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside until ready to use.
- Make the wontons: Combine the chicken, salt, sugar, pepper, green ionions, garlic, and wine in a medium bowl and knead and turn with clean hands until the mixture is homogenous and starting to feel tacky, about 1 minute.
- Fill the wontons, using a tablespoon of filling per skin. Use your fingertip to add a thin layer of water around all the edges of the wrapper. Pull two corners together and pinch them shut to form a triangle, then seal up the edges of the triangle, making sure to push out as much air as possible. Moisten the folded corners, then pull them toward each other, making them meet and cross in the center. Repeat until you’ve made all your wontons.
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Cook about 20 wontons at a time until they are completely cooked through, about four minutes. Drain the wontons and transfer to a warm serving platter. Repeat with the remaining wontons and spoon the sauce on top of the cooked wontons. Sprinkle with peanuts and minced cilantro and serve.