Pork Wontons

Simple and delicious. Pork wontons are little parcels of juicy, mouthwatering goodness. Packed full of flavour, these are perfect just on their own (with some form of dipping sauce) or in soups, with or without noodles. I've also got a traditional pork and cabbage pan-fried dumpling recipe that's also super yum. Definitely worth trying!

There are no rules when it comes to dipping sauces for pork wontons. Go with what you like. I looooove pairing it with a gingery, vinegary based dipping sauce with a hint of sesame oil. A chilli oil dipping sauce (infused with lots of Shichuan peppercorns!) is also fantastic with pork wontons.

In this recipe, I'll include my ginger and vinegar dipping sauce.

Make your own chilli oils or, there is a huge variety of chilli oils at any Asian grocery store to choose from!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Making pork wontons
• Make ahead - freezer friendly
• Tips for super yum pork wontons
• Other delicious Asian recipes to try!
• 📖 Recipe

Ingredients

• Pork mince opt for fatty pork mince for juicy filling!
• Wonton wrappers are available at Asian grocery stores. If you're in Australia, I've seen them at both Coles and Woolies (our major supermarkets).
• Soy sauce adds the beloved salty, umami flavour into the wontons.
• Shaoxing wine is a Chinese cooking wine (really good quality ones can be consumed as a beverage) that is made with fermented rice. Similar to cooking with red or white wine, Shaoxing wine adds depth and aroma to a dish.
• Dark brown sugar is used a lot (instead of white sugar) in my recipes as I find they add more flavour (the molasses) to any dish!
• Sesame oil is used to provide a nutty aroma. A little goes a long way. Because sesame oils are very strong in flavour, you don't want to overdo it.
• White pepper a classic for Chinese cooking. It is milder in taste than black pepper.

Making pork wontons

There are a couple of ways to wrap pork wontons. This method below is the easiest and quickest way. It's awesome as you need zero practice to make it perfectly - so easy.

One thing to keep in mind though. The key to wrapping any form of dumplings (ps. wontons are a type of dumpling) is to make sure you completely seal the filling with the wrapper. This way no filling will escape when it's being cooked (for this recipe, the wontons will be boiled). When wontons are not tightly wrapped, water can get into the wontons and thus diluting the flavour. This is a huge no no. You want to keep all the good flavours inside the wontons!

Easy wonton wrapping method

Psst. When I filmed this I made a filling that was half pork and half prawns. It was sooo yum. Kept all other ingredients exactly the same, just swapped half the pork mince for prawns. For the prawns, I just roughly chopped raw peeled, deveined prawns.

How do you know when wontons are done?

Like ravioli, wontons float to the top of the pot when they're ready. This takes about 4 minutes. I generally boil the wontons 10 to 20 seconds further once they float to the top. Just to make sure they're cooked cooked.

It is superrrr important that you don't stir the pot once wontons have been added into the boiling water. Wontons are extremely fragile the first 1 - 2 minute of the cooking process. So let the wontons be, they will sink to the bottom of the pot and touch each other. That's okay. Don't worry, they will float to the top.

If for any reason, the wontons are stuck at the bottom of the pot after about 4 minutes, gently wiggle them with a slotted spoon.

Make ahead - freezer friendly

Make extra and freeze half the portion for a rainy day. Or, make ahead of a special day such as.. Chinese New Year! It's just around the corner!

Here is how you freeze wontons

Only freeze uncooked wontons. To ensure wontons are not stuck together in the freezer: 

1. Lightly flour a baking tray (that can fit into your freezer)
2. Place wontons in one single layer (no stacking!) onto the tray with a little space in between each one. This will make sure wontons freeze individually and not stuck together.
3. Place the tray into the freezer. 
4. Once wontons are frozen, put them into a freezer bag or container for storage in the freezer.

These pork wontons last up to 3 months in the freezer. Any longer and they may get freezer burn. 

Cooking frozen wontons

Cook frozen wontons in boiling water and they're ready once they float to the top. No need to thaw the wontons before cooking. 

Tips for super yum pork wontons

• Go for fatty pork mince. The fat is key to juicy and omg so delicious wontons!
• Firmly press and seal the filling with the wrapper to ensure all the flavours stay inside the wontons.
• When boiling wontons,
  • don't stir the pot, let the boiling water do its thing. This will lower the risk of any wontons to break apart.
  • don't overcrowd the pot with wontons. Only add about one layer of wontons at a time. Cook in batches if you have to. This will stop wontons from sticking together (which might cause the wrappers to tear if you try to wiggle the wontons apart).
• For mega flavour bomb, serve wontons with a dipping sauce.

Wontons are also excellent appetisers/finger foods - they're great served on a Chinese soup spoon, with some dipping sauce and very finely sliced green scallions/spring onions. Like the pictures here. Looks super fancy and impressive. So next time you have a (small) get together at home, give this a go! I'm certain it'll be a hit with everyone!

Other delicious Asian recipes to try!

• Classic pork and cabbage pan-fried dumplings - my go-to flavour combo for dumplings
• Ginger beef and kale stir fry - learn how to turn cheap beef cuts into tender delicious beef slices
• The best homestyle soy sauce chicken drumsticks - traditional, proper home cooking at its best
• Chicken noodle stir fry - quick, easy and delicious noodles

Thank you for checking out my recipes! Let me know what you think and/or if you have any questions, drop me a note in the comments section below. 🙂

Happy cooking!

Gen

📖 Recipe