How to Make Chicken and Cilantro Wontons

Happy Year of the Rooster! It’s Chinese New Year (and Lunar New Year) in our house and I thought I would bring my husband a little taste of home by making some homemade chicken and cilantro wontons.

Before I met my hubby, wontons did not really exist in my life. Being from Shanghai, wontons (or dumplings) are a thing of pride. Basically, they are life. For me, it used to be quite the opposite. I just wasn’t that keen on the stuffing. I mean, I like my bacon, I am not a huge fan of ground pork… which is pretty much what all wontons are made of. So when my mother-in-law came to visit us two years ago, she whipped up a batch of chicken and cilantro wontons. The wontons lasted about a week. You could say that I was hooked. And just before she left, she made another huge batch for us. Boy, did we try to hold on to those as long as possible. It was a sad day when we were down to our last dumpling.

So here were are, two years later, and these delightful little bites are back in our lives. After confirming the recipe with my mother-in-law, we have finally been reunited with these wontons just in time for Chinese New Year. If you have the time, I suggest even doubling this recipe so that you have lots to store in the freezer for later. The way I see it is that if I am going through all the trouble (and fun!) of making these, I might as well make enough to last a couple of months.

How to Fold a Wonton

Learning how to fold a wonton may seem intimating at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is actually super easy. Just follow these 3 simple steps below:

1. Dip your finger in water and smear along the edges of the wonton wrapper.
2. Fold the wrapper over to create a rectangular shape and and press down along the side and top edges to seal the mixture inside.
3. Take the two bottom edges and wrap them under to overlap. Add a dap of water on the bottom edges to make them stick together.

Freeze

To store, place wontons on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and freeze for an hour. Then transfer wontons into ziploc bags or tupperware and use as desired.

Serve

When you are ready to eat these wontons, you can pan-fry them and serve with a side of dipping sauce or make an easy 10-minute wonton soup.

How to Make Chicken and Cilantro Wontons

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• Author: Sam | Ahead of Thyme
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 10-12 servings (80-90 wontons)
• Category: Appetizer
• Cuisine: Chinese

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Description

Celebrate Chinese New Year this year with easy-to-make chicken and cilantro wontons!

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Ingredients

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced into 1 inch cubes
• 1 bunch of cilantro (about 3.5 cups), loosely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, halved
• 3 tablespoons ginger, chopped
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 80-90 wonton wrappers

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Instructions

1. Combine chicken, cilantro, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil into a food processor.
2. Process on low for about 30 seconds until mixture is chopped finely.
3. Scoop a spoonful of the chicken mixture into the centre of a wonton wrapper.
4. Dip your finger in water and smear along the edges of the wonton wrapper. Fold the wrapper over to create a rectangular shape and press down along the side and top edges to seal the mixture inside.
5. Take the two bottom edges and wrap them under to overlap. Add a dap of water on the bottom edges to make them stick together.
6. Repeat until all the chicken mixture is used up.
7. To store, place wontons on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and freeze for one hour. Then transfer wontons into ziploc bags or tupperware and use as desired.