I think I’ve made it pretty obvious by now that I love food (big surprise there, me having a food blog and whatnot). All the flavors, textures, seasonings- GAH. I’m drooling just thinking about it and attribute my love of food completely from growing up in a family that also just happens to be food-obsessed.
In fact, we plan family get-togethers based on the food we’ll be eating that day and holidays are just one big excuse to stuff ourselves silly. Christmas means big meat roasts, homemade bread, and my Auntie Stephanie’s delicious and fluffy mashed potatoes. The 4th of July means asian-style BBQ ribs, sashimi, and octopus salad (I know, eclectic). Growing up, Friday nights were always reserved for dinner at my Obachan’s house, and dooooonn’t even get me started on Thanksgiving. In fact, our biggest nightmare is not having enough food at one of our parties. Terrifying 😯 .
These pork wontons are a family-favorite that never fail to disappear by the time everyone packs up to leave to head back home. They’re the kind of appetizer that gets people gathering around the table, munching away, as soon as they’re brought out. They have the potential to ruin a party since everybody is to busy eating to talk and socialize. And I mean, who could blame us?! They deliver maximum golden-brown crispness with a delicious pork and garlic filling and ooooohhhh my gosh you guys! The sweet and salty explosion in your mouth when you dip them in sweet chili sauce is unreal. It’s fried deliciousness at it’s best!
I got this recipe from my mom, who is by no means a stranger to wontons. She’s a 2nd grade teacher and likes to go above-and-beyond for her students and always makes a huge 200+ batch with them for Chinese New Year. She prepares the meat filling at home, then brings in the prepared wonton dough and has them fill and crimp them, then sends them with some of the teaching assistants over to the kitchen to fry them up for everyone to enjoy. Since she’s done it for the last 10 years, that calculates out to be… at least 2000 wontons for her students alone!? I guess you could call her a wonton expert and this recipe tried and true!
If you’ve never worked with wontons before, you can usually find pre-made dough in your local grocery store in the refrigerated section by the tofu under packages titled “wonton/gyoza skins or wrappers”. They make your job much easier and help these wontons come together in a flash!
