DELICIOUS DUMPLINGS. Wonton skins, also called wonton wrappers, are an inexpensive and easy way to jazz up your cooking. Pictured are wonton skins filled with a spicy ground pork mixture and briefly steamed to create delicious Asian-style dumplings. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)

From The Asian Reporter, V22, #15 (August 6, 2012), page 13.

By J.M. Hirsch

AP Food Editor

There’s nothing wrong with showing a bit of skin. Especially if it’s steamy.

Because while they may appear a rather mundane ingredient, wonton skins are an inexpensive and easy way to jazz up your cooking.

So let’s start with the basics. Wonton skins (also called wonton wrappers) are thin sheets of dough made from flour, egg, and water. That’s basically the same formula as Asian egg noodles, and not all that far off from Italian pasta, except wonton skins are cut into round and square sheets.

You may never have bought wontons as a raw ingredient, but if you’ve ever had fried egg rolls or steamed dumplings in your Asian take-out, you’ve eaten them.

Because wonton skins essentially are vehicles for containing other ingredients, their strength is their versatility. They can be filled with just about anything, from ground or chopped meat and vegetables to cheese and sweet fillings.

They also can be cooked any number of ways — pan-fried, deep-fried, baked, steamed, even boiled. You also can cook them before you fill them.

For an easy party (or kid) food, coat a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray. Line each cup with a wrapper, spritz with more cooking spray, then bake at 375º Fahrenheit for about eight minutes, or until the wrappers are lightly browned and crisp. Once cooled, the wonton cups can be filled with whatever nibbles you like.

You’ll find wontons in virtually every grocer, usually in the produce section next to the tofu and other Asian ingredients. They are available in a variety of sizes, though three- inch squares tend to be the most versatile. The larger sizes can be a bit unwieldy once filled.

When using wontons to make dumplings, they need to be sealed shut after being filled. You can fold the edges over onto themselves (like folding a sheet of paper in half); you can gather the edges together over the center (like a purse); or you can place a second wrapper over the first.

However you do it, be sure to lightly wet (dunking your fingers in water is plenty) the edges of the wrapper. This effectively glues them shut.

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Start to finish: 45 minutes

Servings: 6

1 egg

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 pound ground pork

1/2 cup finely grated carrots

4 finely chopped scallions

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

8-ounce can water chestnuts, finely chopped

12-ounce package of three-inch square wonton wrappers

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