There are many ways to fold wontons, and this is our go-to style. It's simple and quick and also quite pretty.
How To Fold Wontons
There are endless ways to fold wontons. Each method has a different name and they are all quite fun. There's the nurse cap, the big purse, the ruffled purse, the fish, the pouch, the envelope (also called folding hands)...and my personal favorite, the ingot.
This shape is called the ingot because this fold is supposed to resemble a golden ingot (luck and fortune)! So very Chinese of us ^_^
I like this method because it's simple and not too fussy. It's easy on the eyes and a method that is easy to learn and remember.
Ingredients
Ready to begin? Ok first you'll need five items:
- Wonton filling
- Square wonton wrappers
- A small dish of room temperature water (this is for you to dip your finger in to moisten the wrapper edges)
- A big plate/board to place the wrapped wontons
- A smaller plate/board to do the actual folding work on
Place all the items on the table. This is now your wonton wrapping station.
Step By Step Method
- Place two teaspoons of the wonton filling in the center of the wrapper.
2. Dip one finger in the bowl of water (I keep the water in a small dish next to my left hand). Wet the edges and form a triangle.
Note: Some people like to wet all four edges. I just like to wet two side by side edges. And then fold and secure the two un-wet edges to the two wet edges.
3. Press out any air bubbles and seal the triangle.
4. Wet one of the bottom corners of the triangle (I do the left corner).
5. Then bring the two corners together.
6. Press and seal the two corners together. Let the corners overlap a bit so that some of the corner sticks out.
You can let the corner stick out as much or as little as your want. Or you can even just seal it right at the corner. I like there to be a little "tail", but that's just personal preference.
Set the wrapped wonton on the plate/board, and start the next one. Keep repeating until you've used up all the filling and wrapper.
About The Wonton Filling
So what type of filling should you use? There are many options! I'll gradually post more filling recipes on the blog, but you can start with these:
- Simple Pork Wonton Filling
- Kimchi and Pork Filling (I'm folding dumplings in this recipe, but you can use that same filling recipe to form wontons)
Wonton Dipping Sauce
For a classic wonton dipping sauce, try our Wonton (and Dumpling) Dipping Sauce recipe.
Questions and Tips
If you have leftover wrappers, place the wrappers in a ziptop bag and store in the fridge (if using within the next few days) or freezer.
If you are not planning to make more wontons in the foreseeable future, you may also cut the wrappers into strips and deep fry them!! Yes, we eat this as a snack. The deep fried wrappers are so good hot from the fryer and dusted with a little sugar or brushed with honey heheh. We like these so much, there's even a local Hawaii company that specializes in this snack. It's called Maebo's One-Ton Chips! We ate SO many of these wonton chips growing up. I have fond memories of buying giant bags from Costco Hawaii. You can find smaller size bags at Longs Drugs.
If you have leftover wonton filling, I like to make little freeform meat patties and panfry them for a few minutes on each side. Eat with a bowl of hot rice!
If you plan to cook and eat the wontons the same day (ideally within a few hours of folding them) store the wontons in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Make sure to store the wontons in a single layer.
If you plan to cook and eat the wonton at a later time, place the wrapped wontons in a single layer on a tray. Stick that tray in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes (wontons should be partially frozen at that point).* Then remove the wontons from the tray and place them all in a big ziptop bag and store it in the freezer. Just pull out as many wontons you need each time. Boil and eat, so easy ^_^
*The whole point of letting the wontons partially freeze on the tray first is so that they don't get all stuck to each other when you put them in the ziptop bag.
How To Wrap Wontons
See below and happy folding ^_^
How To Fold Wontons
There are a million ways to fold wontons, and this is our go-to method. It's simple and quick, and also quite pretty. This wrapping style is sometimes called the "Ingot Style" because the folded wontons look like golden ingots.
Ingredients
- Wonton filling
- Square wonton wrappers
Instructions
- Place 2 teaspoons filling in the center of the wonton wrapper.
- Dip your finger into the bowl of water and lightly wet the edges. Fold in half to form a triangle. Seal the triangle and push out any air bubbles.
- Wet one of the bottom corners of the triangle.
- Bring the two bottom corners together. Use the wet corner to help seal the two corners together.
- Press to make sure it's sealed nicely. Set aside and repeat with the next one!
Mahalo for Reading!