Crispy wontons with tomato sauce

INGREDIENTS

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• about 40 wonton wrappers
• corn starch for dusting
• oil for deep-frying

Tomato sauce

• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• ¾ cup thinly sliced shallots
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 4 fresh red Thai chilies, chopped
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 kg ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
• ¾ cup chicken stock
• fish sauce to taste

Wonton filling

• 120 g raw shelled prawns, finely chopped
• 70 g minced pork
• small handful of fried shallots *
• 1½ tbsp shallot oil *
• a heaped cup chopped water chestnuts (fresh preferred)
• a small handful of finely chopped wood ear mushrooms (if dried, reconstitute in hot water)
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp chopped scallions (white parts)
• 1¼ tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp dry-roasted, ground white sesame
• 1 tbsp chopped shallots
• ½ tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• a pinch of ground black pepper

METHOD

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Make the sauce

In a sauce pan preheat the oil on a medium heat. Add the shallots and fry until golden brown, stirring from time to time. Add the chilies and garlic. Fry for 1 minute. Stir in the rice wine, tomatoes and stock. Cook over a low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Take the sauce pan off the heat and season with fish sauce. Using a hand blender process the sauce until smooth.

Prepare the filling and make wontons

In a medium bowl mix all the filling ingredients. Set aside.

If using frozen wontons, thaw them first without opening the package. After defrost, separate wontons gently one by one and keep them under a damp kitchen towel.

Line a baking tray with a parchment paper and sprinkle with corn starch.

Put one wonton wrapper on a chopping board. Damp its edges all around with water. Place about 1 tsp of the filling in the center then cover with a second wrapper and seal the edges around the filling (remove any air bubbles from the inside). Put the filled wonton onto the baking tray. Make all wontons the same way.

Fry the wontons and serve

In a wok or deep-fryer preheat the oil to 180^oC. Fry the wontons in batches until crisp and golden brown (about 3 minutes). Drain on a paper towel.

Serve the wontons with tomato sauce in a separate bowl. Deep in the sauce and eat :)

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ADDITIONAL RECIPES:

* Fried shallots and shallot oil

• 50 g Asian shallots
• 1 cups peanut oil

Cut the shallots into thin rings (1-2 mm). Pour in the oil to a small sauce pan and heat it up to 135^oC. Add the shallots, reduce the heat to medium/low and fry until golden, stirring from time to time. The shallots should be ready after 10-15 min. Using a slotted spoon takethe shallots out of the oil onto a paper towel. Use the oil as a shallot oil in our recipes.