Wontons in Chili Oil

First, let’s make the filling. Combine 1/2 pound of ground pork, 1 tsp of grated ginger, 2 tsp of grated garlic, 1 /3 tsp of chicken powder, 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tsp of Chinese cooking wine, 1 tbsp of water, 1/3 tsp of white pepper, 1/3 tsp of black pepper, some salt to taste, 1/3 cup of diced scallion and a drizzle of sesame oil. Mix them together until well combined. The filling is done.

Next, we just wrap the wonton. When you buy wonton skin, pick the thinnest one possible. Because a good wanton skin should be like paper thin and when you cook it, it will taste soft and smooth. Take some filling, not so much or else the skin will break. Dip some water and wet the one side of the wrapper. Fold it across like that. Pack it tight. Make sure you squeeze the air out. Make a small curve here so it is easy to fold. Then you glue two sides and pinch them together.

The amount I gave is enough to make 50 chao shou. If you cannot finish them in one day, you can leave some space between them and freeze them. Whenever you want to eat them again, don’t need to defrost. Just directly cook them.

Before we cook the wonton, let’s make the chili oil base. In a serving bowl, add 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp of black vinegar, 2 tbsp of cilantro, 2 tbsp of diced scallion, 1-2 tbsp of chili oil. This totally depends on your own preference. I am adding 1.5 tbsp.

Now you can cook your chao shou. Bring the water to a boil. Add in the wonton. It will drop down the temperature. You just wait for it to come back to a boil. Give it a few stir to make sure the wonton is not sticking on the bottom. The difference between cooking frozen wonton and fresh wonton is that you add the frozen wonton into cold water and bring it to a boil. If it is fresh wonton, you just add it to the boiling water. The rest of the step is the same. Now the water is boiling. Add 1/2 cup of cold water and wait for it to come back to a boil again. Adding cold water is a traditional way to make sure your wonton is fully cooked. Once it comes back to a boil, all the wontons should be floating to the top. You can take it out and put it into the serving bowl. I usually do 12 per serving. Mix it up and you can taste it and see if you need more salt. Now you are ready to enjoy this delicious Sichuan chao shou wonton.