There is nothing better than making a batch of wontons with a loved one and having a good old natter about everything and nothing at all. The tranquillity and comfort usually seeps into the pleats and folds. These vegetarian wontons are great deep-fried, poached, or steamed. They can be enjoyed with lots of sauce and a side of blanched greens; they garnish delicious noodle soups as more-ish toppings.
This recipe was excerpted from ‘Vietnamese Vegetarian’ by Uyen Luu. Buy the full book on Amazon.
What you’ll need
Black Vinegar
$14 At Amazon
Perilla Sauce
$15 At Amazon
Chili Crisp
$18 At Amazon
3 x 3 Wonton Wrappers
$3 At Weee!
Recipe information
Yield
Makes approx. 24 wontons
Ingredients
For the perilla and black vinegar sauce
For the wontons
For deep-frying
For poaching
For garnish
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Step 2
Make the sauce by mixing the ingredients together. Set aside.
Step 3
Place the cauliflower and sweet potato onto a baking sheet. Drizzle and toss with the oil and bake for 25–25 minutes.
Step 4
When the vegetables are done, let them cool slightly before roughly mashing the sweet potato in a mixing bowl. Add the cauliflower, edamame, water chestnuts, sushi ginger, and spring onions. Sprinkle with the sea salt and gently fold it altogether with the sesame oil.
Step 5
To make the dumplings, sprinkle a little cornstarch onto a tray. Place a wonton wrapper onto the palm of your hand and place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the middle. Fold into a triangle and roughly pleat together. Place it on the tray. This technique is great for deep-frying. If you would like to poach the wontons, pleat them into gold sacks by folding into a triangle then pinching inwards until the wrappers gather at the top, before placing the wontons on a tray. Repeat.
Step 6
To deep-fry: Heat about 2 inches of oil to 320°F in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, and fry in batches for about 3 minutes on each side or until blistering and golden. Drain on paper towels.
Step 7
To poach: Place in a pan of boiling water and poach in batches for 4 minutes, at which point they should float to the top. Leave to poach for another minute before draining and then gently tossing in the sesame oil.
Step 8
To serve, place on a platter and pour the perilla sauce all over it. Scatter with spring onion.
Recipe notes
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