On a trip to southern China a few years ago, I discovered the addictive taste of Sichuan flavours. The tingling sensation (known as ma la) numbs your lips and sets your taste buds on fire! China was beautiful in wintery January, and the food was unbelievable. We spent several nights dining in what came to be termed "Meat Alley", where Sichuan lamb, chicken and squid skewers were grilled over open flames. I wanted to capture some of those flavours in my kitchen, and happily happened upon some Sichuan spice recently. These wontons are intense - gorgeous soft slippery casings with delicious pork and prawn filling, swimming in a glistening bath of hot Sichuan chili oil. I'd eat these for my last meal, I swear. You have to try them!
Serves 4
Prep: 20-30 minutes (depending how speedy you can be with the wrapping!)
Cook: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 packet of wonton skins (I get mine at my local Asian market - much cheaper for a bigger pack!)
300g pork mince
200g raw prawn meat, chopped
2 tsp cornflour
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 egg
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3cm piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tbsp Sichuan spice (I found mine at Coles)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 bunch coriander, leaves and stems very finely chopped
4 spring onions - half finely chopped for filling, half sliced on the diagonal for garnish
Sesame seeds for garnish
Sauce
3cm piece ginger, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Chinese black vinegar
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp Sichuan spice
2 tsp crispy chili oil (I like the Angry Lady brand - available in supermarkets)
Method
Make the sauce first. Combine everything in a Pyrex jug or a jar with a lid and mix together well. Set aside.
Filling time! Into a large bowl put your pork, prawn meat, cornflour, egg, garlic, ginger, Sichuan spice, salt, pepper, coriander and spring onion. Add in the chicken stock slowly, mixing vigorously to combine each time. You want the mixture to come together to resemble a paste, and you may not need all of the stock.
You're going to want to set yourself up an assembly line. At one end, put your wonton skins, then the bowl with the filling, next a small bowl of lukewarm water, and finally a large platter or chopping board covered with a sheet of baking paper. Working from one end to the other, take a wonton skin and use a knife (I find this more effective than a spoon!) to spread a teaspoon-sized amount of filling in the centre. Holding the wonton in your left hand, dip your right fingers into the water bowl and run them around the edges of the wonton skin. Bring the corners together on the diagonal and press firmly on all sides to get the air out and ensure the filling is tightly encased. It should now resemble a lumpy triangle! Leave the peak of your triangle alone, but bring the two other points together in the front so they are essentially hugging the filling (awww......). Press them firmly and place the wonton on the baking paper. Repeat several more times! (I like to listen to bad music, have a sitcom I've seen already on the TV or call my grandma on speaker phone for this process...)
Once all your gorgeous little wontons are wrapped and your hands are hopefully not too cramped, heat a large pot of water until boiling. You'll want to work in batches here, as wontons tend to get a bit precious if they feel they don't have their personal space in the pot. I usually do it in two lots.
Add half the wontons to the boiling water. Let it come back to the boil, cook for about 8 minutes, and then pour in a cup of cold water. This means that the next time your water comes back to boil, you should feel pretty certain that your wontons are cooked through. (If I'm cooking them from frozen, I like to do this twice just to be safe.) Remove with a slotted spoon and arrange in a large serving bowl. Repeat with the rest of the wontons.
Now it's time for your wontons to get their delicious chili bath! Mmmmm.... pour over the glossy, gorgeous sauce, making sure each wonton gets a drizzle, and top with the reserved spring onion and sesame seeds.
Serve in the middle of the table, and fight over who gets the last one!
Kommentare