Wontons

I made wontons for the first time today, Valentine's Day. My original intention was to make Italian-flavored ravioli shaped like hearts for the kids' lunch, inspired by this post at Weelicious. However, today I was feeling like Chinese-flavored wontons might go over better, especially if I gave the kids some noodles to go with them.

Weelicious also had a recipe for chinese flavored filling, so I adapted her recipe just a tad, and this filling turned out great! Luckily, I had everything on hand, and this was really simple. I used rotisserie chicken because I usually have some in the freezer in one-cup batches to grab for quick meals), but you could use any chicken or pork. Leaving out the meat entirely and adding more veggies is another option, which I'll definitely be experimenting with. My whole family loves wonton and pot stickers (which as far as I can tell are just fried wonton), so this will be a great for nights that we crave Chinese food and I want something a bit healthier.

Wontons

1 c. shredded rotissiere chicken

1/2 c. chopped celery

1/2 c. chopped carrot

1 T. soy sauce

1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced

1 clove garlic

1 T. sesame oil

Wonton wrappers

1. Put all ingredients except wonton wrappers into a food processor and pulse until until pureed (I used my magic bullet, in batches).

2. Put a teaspoon of filling on a single wonton wrapper, and use your fingertip dipped in water to moisten the edges. Fold over into a triangle and press edges together.

3. Place 4 or 5 wontons into a pot of boiling water for two minutes, remove with a slotted spoon, and lay on a plate without letting their edges touch. Serve immediately (although I like them cold, too). If desired dip into a sauce made with soy sauce and a touch of sesame oil.

4. These are good to made ahead and freeze, as well. Just follow steps one and two, place wontons on a baking sheet, freeze until solid and then move to a bag or container to keep in the freezer. Take out as many as needed when you want to eat some wonton, and then go ahead with step number three. No need to defrost.

Here are our wontons from today's "Chinese Valentine" inspired lunch. I cut the wrappers into hearts using a cookie cutter and sealed two of them together with filling inside for each heart. We also had noodles, heart jello, applesauce, and fresh snow peas. :)

Here I used the rest of the wonton filling to make regular triangles to freeze. I found that making four at a time, with a cup of water and dry cloth nearby, made the work pretty easy and quick. The wonton are in the freezer ready for us to use later.

Inspired by: www.weelicious.com