Deep-fried Wontons

Fall in love with these deep-fried wontons. Every bite gives you a satisfying crispy-crunchy bite with a juicy, flavourful pork filling.

Wontons are versatile and customizable food that can be adapted to suit different tastes and preferences. This recipe is your complete guide to making perfect wontons including how to fold and deep-fry them properly.

What are Deep-fried Wontons?

Deep-fried Wontons are a staple in a variety of Asian cuisines, including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Wontons were said to have originated from China, with evidence of their existence going as far back as the Han Dynasty (206-220 CE) where they were used for ancestral worship.

Traditionally wontons may be served in broth, or eaten with sauce. Guangzhou’s specialty is wonton noodle soup while Sichuan is known for boiling wontons with spicy chili oil, and scallions. Wontons are commonly eaten during the Chinese New Year.

The ingredients and preparation of this type of dumpling vary by region but overall, wontons are filled with ground pork, aromatics, and minced cabbage and wrapped in a thin wrapper. They may either be steamed, boiled, or deep-fried.

Wonton vs. Dumplings?

Wontons and dumplings are both excellent and popular Asian dishes beloved around the world. While they are sometimes confused with one another, they have significant distinctions in their filling, size, shape, wrapper, and cooking method.

Above, we’ve mentioned that wontons are a type of dumpling. Dumpling is actually an umbrella term for pockets of dough and comes either with a filling (sweet or savory) or without.

Known around the world as dim sum or pot stickers, there are numerous types of dumplings from Chinese jiaozi, Japanese gyoza, Korean mandu, and Nepali mo dumplings.

Wontons are always filled with a meat or vegetable filling, whereas dumplings can be filled or the contents can be blended with the basic dough and then shaped accordingly.

Calories per serving – Deep-Frying Concerns

The number of calories in deep-fried wontons varies based on the size, kind of filling, and amount of oil used for frying.

A single deep-fried wonton contains 36 calories as a general estimate. This recipe yields 25 wontons and contains about 900 calories.

Similarly, if you plan on eating with other foods and with heaping spoonfuls of dipping sauces, the calories will add up from there too.

Deep-frying wontons is a high-fat cooking method that can contribute to a high-calorie intake. If you’re concerned about the calorie and fat content of deep-fried wontons, you might want to try boiling or steaming instead.

How to Make Filling

For this recipe, we use need 2 cups of minced pork, some chopped ginger, scallions, and a fourth of a cup of chopped wood ear mushrooms.

Consider the meat-to-fat ratio (80% meat to 20% fat is good) because it will have an effect on ensuring our wontons achieve the right texture and taste.

To season the filling we’ll need a teaspoon of light soy sauce and oyster sauce and a fourth of a teaspoon of salt. Lastly, an egg will bind all our ingredients. Depending on your preferences and the ingredients you have on hand, you can make adjustments to the wonton filling. Follow the step to make the filling.

• Combine minced meat with ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and egg in a larger bowl.
• Stirring in one direction until the pork becomes sticky, pale white, and fluffy so the filling can be fluffy after cooking. Then garnish with green onion on top.
• Heat some oil in a small pot and then drizzle it over the green onions. This step is optional but it can give a stronger aroma to the filling.  
• Continue to stir to combine everything well.

How to Fold Wontons

Folding wontons can seem intimidating at first, but with our step-by-step guide, it’s easy peasy. Try to look for good quality wrappers if you are not making your own. If the wrapper is too thin, it would be hard to contain the filling. On the other hand, if it’s too thick, it affects the texture. At the same time, the wonton needs to be thin enough to be almost translucent.

Make sure the wontons are properly folded, wrapped, and then sealed completely so they don’t fall apart during the cooking process.

There are numerous methods to fold wontons, and you can experiment with different shapes and techniques to find your favorite. Here is a simple method for folding wontons:

1. To fold a wonton, grab a wrapper and set it on a clean, flat, and dry surface or on the palm of your hand). Position it like a diamond with a point facing toward you and the opposite point facing away from you.
2. Prepare a small bowl filled with water.
3. Fill the wrapper with a tiny amount of filling (approximately ¾ up to a teaspoon max).
4. Dip your finger in the bowl to wet your fingertips. Moisten the edges of the wrapper. You can also dot the corners or trace an outline from corner to corner.
5. Fold the wrapper over to form a triangle shape. Then press the triangle’s top sides or top edges together. This will seal the wonton.
6. Bring the two corners of the triangle’s long side together. Using your thumbs, slightly flatten the filling pocket. Moisten your fingers again and press them together to seal. Now it looks like a wonton.
7. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers and filling.

How to Fry Deep-fried Wontons

To cook the wontons, we’re going to deep-fry them over medium fire until they turn golden brown and crispy. Follow these simple steps to deep-fry your wontons:

1. Fill a small pot with about 2-3 inches of vegetable oil. It’s important to use a neutral oil with a high smoke point. Make sure the pot is deep enough to prevent the oil from overflowing when you add your wontons.
2. Heat oil until 350°F (170 °C). Use a frying thermometer (or the chopsticks test) to ensure your oil is at the proper temperature. The wontons may burn if the oil is too hot while it will absorb more grease and have a thicker texture if the oil is too cold.
3. Add a few wontons at a time to the hot oil. Overcrowding the pot will cause the oil temperature to drop, resulting in greasy, soggy wontons. Keep the wontons submerged in oil by pressing them with a slotted spoon or spider sieve.
4. Fry until they turn golden brown and crispy, about 20 to 30 seconds.
5. Using a slotted spoon (or tongs or wish mesh strainer), carefully remove the wontons from the hot oil, a few at a time.
6. To drain the excess oil, lay the fried wontons on a paper towel-lined plate.

What to Serve

These deep-fried wontons are perfect for a snack or a hearty meal. They cook quickly, can be easily customized, and may be served with a variety of dipping sauces and sides.

Serve them with a dipping sauce like sweet chili sauce, plum sauce, sriracha aioli, or even mayonnaise to enjoy as a light nibble. I find it fabulous with just mayonnaise. If you haven’t tried it with mayonnaise yet, now is the time; I guarantee you’ll be dipping and dunking fried things in mayonnaise.

If you’re looking for a heftier meal, serve it on top of dry noodles with a side of blanched vegetables or bok choy soup. Adding the noodles makes it more substantial and the vegetables balance out the flavors. Other light soups like egg drop soup, seaweed soup and corn egg dro soup matches well too.

Can Frozen Wonton be Deep-Fried Too?

Yes, you can deep-fry frozen wontons but cooking them from frozen is not ideal. Unlike other frozen items that can be fried frozen, these wontons will not cook properly unless they are thoroughly thawed.

Completely thaw the frozen wontons in the refrigerator before cooking. Blot them with a paper towel before frying them to remove any excess moisture.

How to Freeze Wontons if we don’t Fry them all?

Wontons are simple to make at home and can be prepared ahead of time and frozen for later. Once you’ve made wontons simply cover the wontons with plastic wrap and then lay them on a baking sheet.

Put the baking sheet or tray in the freezer and let them freeze for a couple of hours. Once frozen,  transfer them to Ziploc bags for a more space-saving way to store them. They’ll keep for a couple of months in the freezer.

Can Deep-fried Wontons be Reheated?

These wontons are finest when made fresh, but leftovers can certainly be stored in the fridge and reheated. When you’ve fried a batch of too many, you can pop them in the fridge and reheat them for another day.

Deep-frying them again following the steps above, pop them in the air-fryer or oven to reheat.