Title: Fried Wontons (Ck)
Categories: Appetizer Chinese
Yield: 1 Servings

1	tb	Peanut, corn, or other oil
1/2	lb	Lean ground beef

1-2 T chopped scallions (white and crisp green parts) 2-3 diced water chestnuts 1 clove garlic, minced 1 t sugar 1 T soy sauce 1 T hoisin sauce 1 t cornstarch dissolved in 2 T cold water 1/2 t sesame oil 8 egg roll wrappers or 32 wonton wrappers Oil for frying

In an 8-inch skillet, heat the 1 T oil until moderately hot. (You will not need the oil if your pan has a nonstick surface.) Cook the ground beef in the not oil, stirring constantly to keep the pieces broken up. Drain off all of the accumulated fat. Add the scallions, water chestnuts, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce, mixing well. Blend the cornstarch and water together to recombine them, then add this to the meat mixture, stirring constantly just until the cornstarch is blended in and the meat mixture is thickened and glazed. Stir in the sesame oil. Remove the filling to a bowl or container, and refrigerate until thoroughly cooled. The filling can be refrigerated overnight or frozen at this point, but defrist it completely before using.

To make the wontons, cut the square egg roll skins into quarters. Wonton wrappers are already the right size. Place about 1 T filling just off-center on each square, and moisten the edges of the square with a little water. Bring one corner of the wrapper over the filling to the opposite corner to make a triangle. Press the edges together firmly. Pull the bottom corners around to meat behind the folded edge. (It will resemble a fortune cookie.) Moisten your fingers and pinch the bottom of one point to the top of the other to seal the wonton. The uncooked wontons can be refrigerated overnight on a greased sheet of wax paper.

A 12-inch electric skillet is ideal for frying wontons because as many as 20 can be fried at once, but any deep fryer, wok, or pot with sides at least 3 inches high can be used. The wontons will cook well in as little as 1/2 inch of oil. Heat the oil to 375-400øF. Carefully add the wontons one at a time so that they do not touch each other. Fry them until golden all over, turning as necessary. Drain well on paper towels. Serve the fried wontons with duck sauce, Chinese mustard, or any condiment of your choice.

Fried wontons freeze very well when partially cooked. Fry them lightly until they are set but still a pale color. Drain very well, cool completely, then freeze in freezer containers or bags. They do not first need to be tray-frozen. When ready to serve, defrost the wontons aprtially or fully, then refry them in hot oil until golden. If you prefer, heat the partially fried wontons in a 400øF oven until they are golden and sizzling, which will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

From: Chinese Kosher Cooking Betty S. Goldberg Jonathan David Publishers, Inc., 1989

Entered by: Lawrence Kellie

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