Shrimp & Pork Wonton in Spicy Black Bean Chili Oil

Juicy pork and shrimp in each bite of wonton coated with spicy, sour and savory black bean sauce. This silky-smooth homemade wonton smothered in spicy black bean chili oil are filled up with pork, shrimp and many other spices that will completely satisfy your taste bud. The key in delicious spicy wonton is the chili oil. I like to use lao gan ma black bean chili oil as it is not surprisingly spicy. It has just a little heat that balance out with all the other flavors.

This shrimp & pork wonton make a great appetizer, or it can be the main dish if you make a huge bowl out of it. Perfect to pair with noodle, veggie stir-fry, steamed fish, or any other Chinese dish. You get the idea. Also, you can make a big batch of these shrimp and pork wontons because they can store up in a freezer for months. Make ahead and you can serve these spicy wontons in a matter of minutes (read the recipe from ‘Cook & Serve section’). If you would like to have wonton soup version, you can prepare it with this soup broth recipe.

Another plus, when you don’t have enough time to make the wontons, you can also use your favorite store-bought wontons and just smothered them in the chili oil sauce below. It will just be as delicious as it can be – little spicy, a bit sour and salty. Sometimes when I don’t have time to make the wontons, the store-bought ones with the black bean chili oil will do. That will be my ‘instant spicy wonton 2.0 version’.

Tool used:

• Baking Sheet – I love these baking sheets as it is non-stick and very easy to clean.
• 4-quart Pan – This saucepan is my ‘perfect’ size for cooking just about anything. I boil pasta, make soup, and heat up my food in this pan. It is non-stick and very easy to clean.

Tip: The uncooked wontons can be stored in the freezer. On a baking sheet, put each wonton with no contact to one another, covered them with plastic wrap and froze for about an hour or so. Make sure that there is no contact between each wonton as they can stick to each other. When the wontons are frozen, you can transfer them to a big Ziploc or container. At this point, they should not be sticky anymore.

Ingredients:

• ½ lb ground pork
• 1 lb ground shrimp – peeled and cleaned
• 4 cloves garlic – minced
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 pack square wonton wrappers
• Water – to stick the wonton & to boil the wonton
• Green onion – sliced to garnish

Chili Oil per bowl (for about 8-10 wontons)

• 1 tablespoon Lao Gan Ma black bean chili oil
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions:

WONTONS

• Roughly chopped the shrimp and put it in a large mixing bowl.
• Add ground pork, garlic, ground ginger, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper to the mixing bowl. Mix it well.
• Prior to wrapping, make a small ball from the mixture filling. Boil water in a pan under medium heat. Once the water boiled, put the small ball and let it cook for about 3 minutes or until it is cooked thoroughly. Take it out and taste it. If needed, you can add more salt and pepper to your liking.
• Then, take out one dumpling wrapper, place about half a tablespoon of the filling into the center.
• Brush the edge of all four sides of the wonton wrapper with water, using your fingertip.
• Lift up one corner and fold it to the opposite corner to make a triangle shape (see the picture here for reference), push out any air around the filling and seal it.
• Brush a bit of water on the bottom corner, bring together the opposite corner and press together to seal it (see picture here).
• The end result should look somewhat like a tiny boat (see picture here).
• Repeat the process for each wonton until all the wrappers are gone.
• Place it in a plate and ensure that each wonton do not touch each other as they can stick to each other. You can freeze the wontons at this point.

COOK & SERVE

• In each bowl, mix lao gan ma spicy black bean sauce, dark soy sauce and red wine vinegar.
• In the meantime, boil a large pot of water. Once it is boiled, toss several wontons and cook for 3-5 minutes or until they are completely cooked through.
• Drain wontons and place about 8-10 wontons per bowl.
• Give a good mix until the wontons are all covered with the chili oil.
• Garnish with some sliced green onion.
• Enjoy it while it’s hot!