Recipe from Tony Tan
Adapted by Alexa Weibel
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus at least 4 hours’ resting for chile oil and sauce
- Rating
- 4(441)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Sichuan won tons are typically doused with hot, numbing chile sauce, but this less fiery version, adapted from “Hong Kong: Food City” by Tony Tan, is more like what you’d find at Cantonese restaurants. These delicate won tons are subtly sweet, ginger-scented and filled with a tender combination of pork, egg, stock, soy sauce and Shaoxing rice wine. Eat a couple of the won tons on their own to appreciate their delicate flavor before surrounding them with chile oil sauce, which will inevitably dominate them. Scale the amount of chile oil to suit your tolerance. —Alexa Weibel
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Ingredients
Yield:About 40 won tons
- 25grams dried red chiles, preferably Sichuan or Tianjin chiles (about ¾ cup)
- ½cup neutral oil, such as sunflower, canola or vegetable oil
- ⅓cup well-stirred chile oil, plus more to taste
- ⅓cup light soy sauce
- 4teaspoons toasted white sesame seeds
- 4teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1(2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
- 3garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns, lightly crushed
- ¼teaspoon granulated sugar, plus more to taste
- 10ounces ground pork (at least 20 percent fat)
- 1large egg, beaten
- 2tablespoons finely chopped ginger
- 1tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine
- ½teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3tablespoons chicken stock (or water)
- About 40 (3½-inch-wide) square won-ton wrappers (preferably yellow, Hong Kong-style)
- 2scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
For the Chile Oil
For the Chile-oil Sauce
For the Filling
For Assembly
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (40 servings)
96 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 143 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Make the chile oil: Snip any stems off the chiles and discard any exposed seeds. Heat a wok or large skillet over low. Add ½ teaspoon oil and the chiles and cook, stirring constantly, until the chiles are fragrant, toasted and slightly darkened, about 3 minutes. Transfer the chiles immediately to a large plate and let cool completely.
Step
2
Add the cooled chiles to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped into small pieces. Transfer to a medium heatproof bowl. Add the remaining oil to the wok or skillet and heat over medium-high until shimmering and smoking, then immediately turn off the heat and let cool 3 minutes. Pour the warm oil over the chiles, stir to combine, then let cool 2 hours or up to overnight. (You’ll have a generous ½ cup. Chile oil will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 months.)
Step
3
At least a couple hours before you plan to make the won tons, prepare the chile-oil sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together all the sauce ingredients to combine (makes about ¾ cup). Add more chile oil to taste. Set aside. (Chile-oil sauce is best prepared at least a few hours in advance, and will keep a few weeks refrigerated in a covered container.)
Step
4
Prepare the filling: Put all the ingredients except the chicken stock in a medium bowl and mix well. Add the stock 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring in a circular motion until incorporated before adding the next spoonful.
Step
5
Assemble the won tons: Fill a small bowl with water and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Working with one won-ton wrapper at a time, place 1 rounded teaspoon of pork filling in the center of the wrapper. Dip your finger in the water and run it around the edges of the wrapper. Lift and fold one corner over the filling toward the opposite corner over to form a triangle, gently pressing the air out as you seal the edges with your fingertip, then dab one of the lower corners with water and fold over to reach the other lower corner, forming a smaller triangle; pinch both corners to seal. Transfer to the parchment paper, and cover loosely with a damp kitchen towel or a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Repeat until all the filling is used.
Step
6
Bring a large pot of water to the boil over high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, cook the won tons until they float to the surface, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Divide the won tons among bowls, drizzle with chile-oil sauce and garnish with scallions.
- Make ahead: If preparing the won tons in advance, you can cover and refrigerate for up to a few hours. If preparing more than a few hours ahead of time, freeze them on the baking sheet until firm, then transfer won tons to a resealable plastic bag or lidded container and freeze for up to 2 months. You can boil them directly from the freezer.
Ratings
4
out of 5
441
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Cooking Notes
Sheryl
Can you use bottled chili crisp as chili oil component?
Kay
Is the fat content for mouthfeel? If you subbed ground chicken, would it make sense to add duck fat or something similar?
jordan
I decided at 4:00 today in the grocery store,that I wanted to make this for dinner. Obviously not enough time for a four hour sauce. So I added about 2 tbsp of garlic chili sauce to 1/3 cup oil and went from there. By the time we are, the sauce sat for a couple of hours and the whole dish was amazing. Would it be better with chili oil? Likely yes. Was it delicious the way I made it? Also yes. Don’t let the 4 hour thing out you off
Tom
Any chance of a veggie version? Can't eat pork here (and thanks also to Kay on the chicken/duck suggestion below)
David Spence
I like to add lots of cilantro to fillings for pot-stickers or dumplings.
Barbara
I haven't frozen this chili oil, but a similar Mexican chili oil with sesame seeds, sesame oil, and chili oil has been on my counter for at least a month, and we use it frequently. The Mexican version has no garlic in it, which may assure a longer shelf life...
albert
yes, it works about the same.
albert
The fat is for making the wontons juicy and flavorful. Adding fat in reasonable amounts is good. You can't make a good sausage without fat.
cyd
I made these with beyond meat instead of pork and added some broccolini on the side, very yum!
Keller
This was really good! I subbed in impossible ground sausage as I don’t eat meat and they were very flavorful. I had previously made chili oil with veggie oil and red pepper flakes and then added the additional ingredients and the sauce was spicy and delicious.
Chris B.
Would the sauce benefit from sitting for a few hours? Maybe. Should it stop you from making this if you don't have the time? Definitely not. Others found the pork filling a bit bland - I thought the combination of flavors in the filling was perfect. Would definitely make this again.
chrissi
Sounds delicious once cabbage and carrots are swapped out for the little pigs!
Susan
We love spicy in this house, but even this was too salty and spicy for us! I toned it down by adding a bit more oil, and sweet chili sauce until it became a sauce everyone enjoyed with a pleasant afterburn. The wontons themselves were out of this world! Worth the time to make those.
Keller
This was really good! I subbed in impossible ground sausage as I don’t eat meat and they were very flavorful. I had previously made chili oil with veggie oil and red pepper flakes and then added the additional ingredients and the sauce was spicy and delicious.
Millie
Wow! this was so delicious; and I even fudged the recipe a little bit due to not having all the exact things I needed. As someone else mentioned; I didn't plan far enough ahead to make my own chili oil so I just used pre-made chili garlic sauce as a sub in the sauce. I also added scallions to the pork mixture because I had some on hand that I needed to use up. The pork filling was delicious and tender. Amazing meal that I feel has some room for interpretation if you like to do that!
Caroline
I’ve made these a few times and really would like to say that I like them as is. Honestly, the inside of the wantons was a little bland to me and we haven’t enjoyed the addition of egg to the filling. The sauce was also more complicated and a bit less tasty than alternative, more simple sauces. After a few tries, I wouldn’t make this one again. My favorite version has some chopped scallion in the filling, no egg, and slightly more sugar a dash of black vinegar in the sauce.
Francie
I wonder if I could use this sauce to go on the bag of potstickers in the freezer? Would it be good? It would be something different!
Deta
I've made the chili oil using good quality red chili flakes. Seems to work ok? With raw pork, especially if wontons have been pre-frozen, they need much longer to cook then the recipe is written.
Meredith
Loved this recipe! If I make again I’ll definitely salt the pork filling OR double the soy sauce in the filling. I wanted a bit more *umph* in the pork filling. Otherwise ~chef’s kiss~.
OhJenny
I make these using plant based Lightlife veggie 'sausage' that comes in a cylinder like polenta- Gimme Lean is the name. When using for wontons, I like to add a little toasted sesame oil and minced green onion. It cooks up firm and succulent. Can be fried as well for appetizers with hoisin sauce.
Rick Barthel
I used chilies that have been around for a while and the oil seemed bland, but hot. Is that what it should taste like? Or did the chilies lose their flavor?
p OP
enjoyed this and will make again, but the sauce has a very slimy mouth feel so I will use less oil. that may mean using more chilies to get the same heat.
cyd
I made these with beyond meat instead of pork and added some broccolini on the side, very yum!
Kate
Followed the instructions to the letter. The sauce was excellent. The wontons on their own were bland as the pork was underseasoned. The sauce was therefore essential. As suggested by another reader, I plan to add chopped shrimp next time.
OceanBeachSF
These wontons were absolutely amazing. I considered skipping the step of making my own chile oil because we had some bottled chile oil on hand. I am so glad I decided to make the chile oil from scratch. I think it makes a world of difference. The wontons were so silky and flavorful, and the drizzle of chile sauce with a few scattered fresh green onions was simply sublime.
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