Food Candy - Beef and Shrimp Won Tons

I've saved the best food candy for last. This, my friends, is my absolute favorite thing to eat in the whole wide world. At least, it's been at the top of the pack for as long as I can remember. This is the meal that I requested for every birthday dinner growing up (I don't know why my mom would ask what I wanted every year because I always said won tons) and one of the few recipes of my mother's that I still continue to make. (While my mother is an absolutely fantastic cook, the meals we grew up eating are a bit on the heavier side and David and I generally prefer to eat lighter meals.)

Won tons always seemed like a special treat because my mother didn't make them very often because they can be a little time intensive. They certainly aren't hard to make, but stuffing each won ton and then frying them up does take a lot of time, especially if you're making a lot and we always made a lot. Because we ate a lot of them. Seriously. You just can't stop eating them. Here's our cast of characters and the recipe:

Beef and Shrimp Won Tons

1 beaten egg
1 cup finely chopped bok choy or napa cabbage (I actually use closer to 2 cups)
¼ c. finely chopped green onion
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated gingerroot ( I find this a little too much and use less)
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ pound ground beef
1 – 4 ½ oz. can of tiny shrimp, drained
40 wonton skins
Oil for deep-fat frying

In large mixing bowl combine egg, bok choy, green onion, soy sauce, gingerroot, sugar, salt, and dash of pepper. Add ground beef and shrimp; mix well. Wrap, about a heaping teaspoon, of meat mixture in a wonton skin. After all of the meat mixture has been wrapped, deep fry a few wontons at a time at 360° or medium high heat until crispy brown. Dip in hot mustard, cocktail sauce, or sweet and sour sauce.

Won ton wrappers can sometimes be tricky to find at some grocery stores but they're often located in the produce section, next to the deli counter, or by the dairy products. They have to be refrigerated, so look for them there. Most packages contain about 40 won ton skins (which is what the recipe calls for) but that will only feed about 3-4 people. Unless I'm just making this for David and myself, I always double the recipe.

Now some of you may remember from my last post that I don't like shrimp. And I still stand by that claim. I don't like shrimp. Not the big kind you spend lots of money on at restaurants. But these are teeny tiny shrimp. You won't even know that they are there. I didn't know there was shrimp in this recipe until I started making it myself. It's just dang tasty and that's all that matters. (The tiny shrimp in a can are found next to the canned tuna.)

So you chop everything up and mix it all together in a bowl. This is before adding the beaten egg, which helps to hold everything together.

Making the meat mixture is the easy part. Now it's time to fold your won tons. I always like to set up a bit of a workshop. I use a plate or cutting board to lay out several wrappers at a time and spoon out the meat onto each wrapper. You also want to have a bowl of water in which to dip your fingers. The water is used to seal the wrappers together so your meat stays nice and snug inside its new home. I also like to keep a towel nearby because your hands will get wet and dirty. You can wrap your won tons any old way you like, but I use three methods.

Method #1: The Envelope

Place your meat in the center of the wrapper and fold one side of the wrapper toward the center of the meat. Dab with water. Fold the opposite side of the wrapper over and seal each corner with water.
Dabbing more water onto the seal, bring another corner of the wrapper to the center. Be careful that there are no gaps in the skin. Seal with more water if necessary.

Finally, bring the fourth corner toward the center. Make sure all ends are properly sealed. (You don't need a lot of water, just a tiny bit to be effective. Using too much water can make the won tons soggy and stick together before frying and are a pain to pick apart.)

Method #2: The Fortune Cookie (okay so I just made that name up....I don't know what else to call it)

This time you want to place your meat closer to one corner than the other. Wet two sides of the wrapper and fold it diagonally to make a triangle.

The wrappers don't make perfect triangles, but just make sure both sides are sealed.

I then bring both ends of the triangle toward the center and seal together with a little dab of water like so. I think these look the best but do take more time than the other two methods. Plus, you have to get just the right amount of meat or they're impossible to seal. The other two methods will allow you to work with a lot or a little meat.

Method #3: Quick and Easy

Dab water over half the won ton wrapper's borders.

Now just fold over and you're done. See? Quick and easy.

Once you've wrapped all your won tons, you're ready to fry them. I layer my won tons on wax paper but you want to be sure to leave room between each won ton because they do tend to stick to each other if they sit for too long and the skins often break or tear as you try to pry two won tons apart.

Heat oil (vegetable or canola) in a large skillet or wok and fry each side for about 1-3 minutes. My mom had an awesome electric wok that you could set to a specific temperature. I've been on the hunt for a good wok myself and despite the fact that I live in Asia, I still haven't found one I like. Go figure.

Getting the temperature right for the oil can be tricky. You don't want it too low or else the won tons will take forever to cook and you'll be there all night. But you also don't want to heat it too high or else the delicate wrappers will brown very fast and the meat won't get completely cooked. I'm constantly adjusting the temperature as I fry the won tons. You'll eventually get a feel for what temperature your stove needs to be on to get nice, golden brown won tons.

Like this. The won ton skin should be golden brown and crispy while the meat inside is thoroughly cooked.

It generally takes me about 15-20 minutes to fry up 40 won tons. I keep them in a warmed oven as I fry up the rest. (You could also boil them, but I love the crispiness of the fried won ton.)

Once they're all fried, serve with sweet and sour sauce (or other dipping sauce of choice) and watch them disappear.

Man, I really want some won tons right now.