Delicious single-bite pork wontons. These mini wontons are super fun and easy to make. Serve them "dry-style" by tossing with a simple sauce, or make mini wonton soup!
We have a big household so every month or so I set aside an afternoon (about 5 hours) to wrap...1,000 wontons!
I love doing this. I put on a great movie, prepare all my ingredients, and fold, fold, fold. It's mediative (especially when you get really good at folding the wontons) and very satisfying.
We eat some for dinner that same evening. And the rest? I freeze the wontons in bags, single serving portions. And for the rest of the month, anyone who wants homemade wontons can enjoy them when the craving comes ^_^
I make a mix of regular size wontons and these mini wontons. Why mini? Because single-bite wontons are real a pleasure to eat. A little nugget of seasoned pork tucked inside silky wonton skin. So good!
Wonton Pi / Wonton Skins
The wonton pi / wonton skins are very important! Buy (or make) the very best you can get.
We have several fresh noodle and wonton skin factories in Honolulu. My dad bought these from Yat Tung Chow Noodle Factory in Chinatown (150 N King Street, Honolulu, HawaiI 96817). They sell wonton skins for $4 a pound.
Above you can see three stacks of fresh wonton skins. The tall stack in the back are for making regular size wontons. The two shorter stacks in the front are for mini wonton skins. It's listed on the menu as "won ton pi - extra thin & small for soup." The mini wonton skins are about ⅔ the size of the regular ones. They are also slightly thinner.
If you cannot get mini wonton skins, don't worry. Just use the regular size wrappers. You'll have extra "skin" (because we only put a little bit of the pork filling inside) but it's so tasty and silky and slurpable. That's a good thing!
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Ground pork
- Minced ginger
- Shaoxing wine - Optional, but a good ingredient to keep in your pantry
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Ground white pepper
- Water
- Mini wonton wrappers
Instructions
Let's get cooking!
First, we make the wonton filling.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients (except for the wonton wrappers).
Mix, mix, mix!
Mix everything together in one direction (I go counter clockwise) until evenly combined.
Note: Why mix in one direction? Doing so helps the wonton filling stick together and makes the filling extra tender when cooking.
Prepare your wrapping station.
On a clean table, lay out the wonton wrappers, the pork filling, and a plate to place all the wrapped wontons.
Tip: I like to place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the table and fold the wontons over that. Makes clean up so much easier ^_^
Wrap the wontons.
Put a very small portion (about ½ teaspoon) of the filling in the center of the wrapper.
Seal the wontons.
Use both hands to gently squeeze and seal the wrapper. The best way to describe this is like you are "scrunching" the wonton skin to seal in the pork filling. We are not aiming for pretty and perfect folds, but something more casual and natural.
Boil the wontons.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the wontons and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and serve in a bowl of hot soup (here's how we make wonton soup). Or toss with a tasty sauce. Enjoy ^_^
FAQ
Here are some of my favorites, we make all of them pretty often at home ^_^
Wontons:
- Pork Wontons
- Shrimp and Pork Wontons
- Spicy Wontons
- Pork Wontons with Sesame Sauce
- Wonton Soup
- How to Fold Wontons
Dumplings:
- Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
- Pork and Chive Dumplings
- Sichuan / Szechuan Dumplings
- Kimchi Dumpings
- Dumpling Dipping Sauce
Local favorite bonus:
- Gau Gee!
Freeze them! Here's how:
Make sure to freeze all the wontons that you don't plan to eat right away. Place the wontons in a single layer on a tray/plate. For regular size wontons, it is important to make sure the wontons do not touch each other. But for these mini size wontons, it's ok if the touch/crowd on the plate.
Place the plate in the fridge for 30 minutes. No need to cover the plate with plastic wrap. The wontons should be partially frozen by 30 minutes.
Remove the wontons from the tray and place them in a ziptop bag. You can put it all in one big back or divide them into several smaller bags. I like to portion them out, 20 pieces (which is about 1-2 servings) to a bag.
Store it in the freezer and pull out as many wontons you need each time.
You've probably heard of all the different and tasty ways to cook wontons and dumplings: boil, steam, pan fry, deep fry, etc. But the way best to cook mini wontons is boiling (it also happens to be the easiest hahah).
The wontons are quite tiny and delicate, so a simple and quick boil is the best way to showcase these gems ^_^
Mini Wontons Recipe
Mini Wontons
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine optional
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons water
- 100 pieces mini wonton wrappers
Instructions
- First, we make the wonton filling! In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients (except for the wonton wrappers).
- Mix everything together in one direction (I go counter clockwise) until evenly combined. Why mix in one direction? Doing so helps the wonton filling stick together and makes the filling extra tender when cooking.
- Prepare your wrapping station. On a clean table, lay out the wonton wrappers, the pork filling, and a plate to place all the wrapped wontons.
- Wrap the wontons. Put a very small portion (about ½ teaspoon) of the filling in the center of the wrapper.
- Use both hands to gently squeeze and seal the wrapper. The best way to describe this is like you are "scrunching" the wonton skin to seal in the pork filling. We're not aiming for pretty and perfect folds, but something more casual and natural.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the wontons and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and serve in a bowl of hot soup (here's how we make wonton soup). Or toss with a tasty sauce. Enjoy ^_^
We are disappointed that your treasured weekly emails/newsletters stopped about one to two months ago….???
Since then researched online but no tips…
This is my second try with opportunity to send this message and ask for help on how to get back on your list…..boo hoo….
Aloha Dorothy! Sorry to heard you haven't been receive the weekly newsletters! Thanks so much for letting me know. I just sent you an email, please let me know if you receive it ^_^
- Kathy
Hi Kathy: I love won tons and gau gees!! Years ago, my late wife and I used to make dozens of gau gees and fry them once and freeze them. Then when we wanted to eat some, we would fry them a second time and they were wonderful. But I love won tons too! But these days I am too lazy to make them so I just buy the big bag of frozen mini won tons from Costco, Lol! But they are still pretty good. I use powdered won ton soup base for the broth, and add boiled chow mein noodles, the mini won tons, bok choi, char siu, kamaboko, green onions and spam. I then have a super fantastic bowl bowl wor won ton mein!