W for Wonton | Savory Wontons, Chocolate Wontons

When it came to W, I had no doubt in my mind what I should do. This was to be one of the first letters to be finalized, though it was the last one to get cooked. With the requirement of the spring roll wrapper sheets that were needed for the outer layer, I kept procrastinating till the end.

I even thought I should have another W in reserve, just in case I am unable to make Wontons. So I had bought a waffle maker months back and is just to be used till. When we had finalized on this mega marathon, I had got a packet of frozen spring roll wrapper sheets. That was the first time I have seen the Spring roll wrappers, being sold in available in our stores. So I got them even they cost a bomb. Since it packed quite a few numbers, I decided to make the spring rolls with those sheets. Unfortunately, they failed on me and I ended up making the outer layer myself.

I almost thought I should dump those sheets, but put them back in the freezer. Right after this, I bought another packet of bigger sheets, I thought I could simply cut into smaller sheets for wontons. Again these were lying around for many days until finally, I had no other choice but to make the wontons.

Vegetarian Savory Wontons

Wontons hold a special place in my heart as these remind me of that period during college days. Those were some wonderful years spent with parents. With some relative or the other, having always lived with us, I remember this period being the lone years when I lived alone with parents and we had a ball of a time. We dined out for every Sunday lunch and we also wanted to experience dining in all the hotels that were booming out during that time. Still, when compared to what the food scene is now in Madras, we didn't have that many options.

After visiting most of the hotels, we finally struck visiting the Presidency club for lunch. Daddy was a member for two years and I can singly blame that place for the need to expand our doors! The food that was served was one of the best experiences we had. With me being the only vegetarian, I invariably ended up ordering Paneer Tikkas and Veg Wontons with Garlic sauce. The combination was a super hit one and the wontons used to be so crispy and well fried. When the membership was up for renewal, we decided not to do, as we no longer could expand our doors!

Chocolate Chip Wontons

I remember ordering these wontons again in The Breeze and it kept up to its image. However, after those experiences, when I had tried at some other place, it wasn't done well. So I decided to never try it out and rather make it myself. However when I had dined in another Chinese restaurant, they served dessert wontons, the stuffing was sweet and I improvised by eating it with Vanilla Ice cream. Since then I had been planning on both Savory and sweet.

Dessert Wontons drizzled with chocolate Sauce

I set out to make this on Sunday, so as I was preparing the lunch, I had the stuffing done. I had thawed the sheets as instructed, only the instructions were not really there. I again faced problems with the sheets breaking down. After much frustration, I decided to fold two layers and make the wontons. That was much better to manage. After making the veg version, I stuffed the chocolate chips and hinted to the boys.

After that, it was such a tough job to get my work done. Peddu was after me to give him everything! and I literally had to pack him off to let me work in peace. I served the chocolate sauce with the chocolate wonton, however, the boys thought it was a savory sauce and won't touch it. The moment they realized it was chocolate, they were so excited and licked the bowl clean!

They were not happy with just a few and wanted some more. So I ended up again making it and by this time the sheets were so pliable to handle and I made with a single layer. so it almost took more than an hour for the sheets to be used properly.

Wontons ~ Sweet and Savory!

Vegetarian Wontons
Ingredients Needed
Spring roll wrapper Sheets - 2 (cut into 4 small sheets)
Beans, Carrot, Cabbage - 1 cup
Soya Sauce - 1 tsp
Green chilies - 1 medium
Salt to taste
Garlic - 2 cloves
Oil - 1
Spring Onions - 2
Onions - 1/4 of a medium
Oil for deep frying
For the paste to seal
All-purpose flour - 2 tbsp
water as required to make a thick paste.
How to make the savory wontons
Thaw the spring roll sheets until it is ready to be used.
Meanwhile finely chop all the vegetables.
Heat a nonstick pan, saute the onions, followed by garlic and all the vegetables. Cook on high and let the vegetables be crispy. Add the sauce and adjust spice.
Remove and keep it aside.
To make the wontons, if your sheets are very big, cut into 4-inch squares. Place the filling in the center. spread the seal paste on all four sides. From one corner, cover the filling and seal it on all sides. At this stage, the shape will be a triangle.
Next in the middle, press inwards to form a bow. On the left-wing, spread the seal paste and get the right-wing over the left, and press well. The sheets get glued very well.
Freeze it for 10 mins.
Once the oil is hot enough, slide the wontons and fry on both sides.
Once it turns colour, drain it on to a kitchen towel.
Chocolate Wontons
Ingredients Needed:
Spring roll wrapper sheets - 2 (cut into 4" squares)
Chocolate chips as required
Seal paste
How to make the Chocolate WontonsAs you did the vegetarian wontons, these are done the same way for folding. Seal the sides with the chocolate chips stuffed in, deep fry. Serve with Chocolate sauce drizzled over it or with Vanilla ice cream.
Notes:
The packet didn't come with any instructions on what seal to use. It looked like plain water. However, it didn't work for me. I then used cornflour mixed in water. This was also not getting the sheets glued. Finally, after a couple of batches done, I thought all purpose flour should work and it worked perfectly. The entire experience was good as I had insight on how to work with these sheets and now I am geared to handle it well. Even if the sheets don't get struck well, the moment it was dropped into the oil, it becomes very crispy. so there is no spelling out of the filling inside. For the filling, since we use soya sauce, make sure you add less salt than usual. Else it will end up becoming too salty.

Peddu showing off his share