Crispy and good!
My sister and I have always thought our “The Best Egg Rolls” are the best ever and are even by far better than any we have had out in a Chinese restaurant. Now that I feel I have “mastered” egg rolls, I’ve been wanting to try a different recipe using wonton and since there were some shrimp in my freezer and most of the other ingredients I needed to do this little wonton “kiss”, thought I would give it a try.
We were away from our pool for a couple of weeks back in May and when we arrived home it was just begging us to jump in. We had been heating it for a couple of months so get a head start on the swimming, floating, hanging out in the pool time. I love trying out new appetizers for when we hang out in the pool, float on a noodle and have a glass of wine and some munchies. Now, if I could just invent a floating table that would hold drinks and some food.
While in Chicago recently we went to a Japanese Izakaya bar. A Izakaya bar is like a pub or tavern with low tables and lots of small plate options to share. The menu is normally on the table, wall or in our case table and on a blackboard that the waitress brought to the table for us to choose from. You typically get a clean wet towel to clean your hands and we removed our shoes before sitting down. It was so much fun. Oliver and Charlie (our Chicago grandsons’s almost 5 and 3) love this place because they can sit on the floor. I loved all the small plates of food we had from pig cheeks to sweet potato fries to dumplings and it got me thinking that I want to do more of this type of food. I will definitely be trying the pancakes and a couple of dishes we tried that night and when I do I will be sure to share them with you. So dinner that night got me to thinking about making something Asian.
Another reason I wanted to try an Asian inspired recipe was to take the picture on this brass fan that I “borrowed” from craft circle’s floral group. Back when I did the bacon, egg and asparagus dish I used one of their bamboo boards for the picture and one day I was prowling around in their “stuff” to see what props I could find, I ran across this cool brass fan and knew it just had to be the plate for an appetizer.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: This Garlic and Oregano Naan is great to cook on the outdoor grill. We have used it before with some grilled provolone (provoleta) that we did in an iron skillet “pool side”.
After you have grated your ginger root and carrots and chopped your celery fine, chop the ship into small pieces.
Mix all the filling ingredients together with the spices.
Put about two teaspoons the filling in the center of each square. For some reason these wontons were more rectangle so I cut off about 3/4″ from the long side.
Use your finger or a brush and moisten the two top edges of the wonton, fold up bottom and press to seal.
Moisten the two points and fold into center.
Heat oil to 350° and fry until nice and brown.
Drain on rack. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
- 1/2 lb. shrimp, raw, peeled, deveined and chopped
- 3-4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/3 c. chopped water chestnuts
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/3 c. chopped cilantro
- 2 tsp. gingeroot, peeled and grated
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
- 1/2 c. shredded carrot
- 1/2 c. diced celery
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder
- 1 pkg. wonton wrappers, 3-4" square
- 3 Tbsp. water for sealing
- oil for frying
- 1/2 c. Thai sweet chili sauce
- 1/4 c. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
- Thoroughly mix the chopped shrimp, green onions, garlic, cilantro, gingeroot, carrots, celery, rice vinegar, soy sauce, 5 spice powder, and crushed red pepper.
- Put about 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture in center of the wonton. Using either a brush or your finger paint some of the egg white mixture around the edges. Bring two opposite corners up seal. Fold in the outside corners to the middle and seal with egg wash.
- Heat the oil to 375°. When ready, drop the shrimp wontons in a few at a time and fry until crisp and brown.
- To make sauce, mix all sauce ingredients together, chill until ready to serve. Sprinkle with a little extra cilantro.
No Comments