Making these fried won tons from The Everything Thai Cookbook took me back to the before times and the lunches I had with my co-workers. There is a Thai spot we all loved to order delivery from. This restaurant offered a decent lunch special that included two fried won tons and these won tons always came with a 1/4 teaspoon of some sort of meat filling. I’m guessing it was pork but one could never be too sure, because the filling was so small. Sometimes you didn’t get any meat at all in your won ton or you thought there was none only to see some speck fly out when you took a bite.
It was part of the charm of ordering there to see who got the most filling or who got the lucky draw of no filling.
I miss that place and my lunch crew.
This recipe might not have that same charm, but at least you can be the master of your own destiny when it comes to how much filling you want.
What you’ll need
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped white mushrooms
- 1/2 pound of ground pork
- 25 won ton skiins
- Vegetable oil for frying
- pinch white pepper
Our first step is to make our filling and to do so you will combine the garlic, cilantro, soy sauce, mushrooms, white pepper, and pork in a medium sized mixing bowl.
When the filling is mixed evenly get your won ton skins out, scoop out a 1/2 teaspoon of filling, and then place that filling in the center of the wrapper. I used a full teaspoon in my won tons by the way so feel free to do the same. I think you just want to make sure you can easily fold the won ton while also having a good portion of filling. What ever amount you place, once it’s there fold the won ton from corner to corner to make a triangle. Repeat these steps until you’ve used all your filling.
Now we are ready to prep our skillet for frying. All this step requires is pouring in about 2-3 inches of oil and then heating that oil until it reaches 350 degrees. If you happen to have a small piece of dough or bread you can also test the heat by dropping it in and seeing if it sizzles right away.
When the oil is hot and ready go ahead and place your won tons in the skillet and let them fry until they are golden brown. Be sure to keep a constant eye on them and turn them over once in awhile. Won tons can burn in a flash if you aren’t careful.
Our final step is to just remove the won tons when fried and set them on a paper towel lined plate to soak up the oil.
You can serve these with sweet and sour sauce or even plain. I actually enjoyed mine without sauce.
I was pleased with the end result. It’s a simple recipe that’s easy to make and kind of fun. The hardest part is making sure to not over cook the won ton. As you can see I burned mine a little bit.
As far as taste goes, it’s hard to go wrong with fried dough and meat filling. I took this to my friend’s house on Easter where we had an outdoor pot luck with a small group of vaccinated friends. The won tons were enjoyed by those there and that’s always a win for me.
Til next time, stay safe, get vaccinated, and hope anyone reading this is well.
thehermitfool 