Wonton and egg (lomein) noodles

This is a basic recipe for Chinese wontons with a pork filling. The shrimp and water chestnuts are optional but if added would work well adding extra flavour and a crunchy texture. You could serve the wontons by themselves simply drizzled with the shallot sauce as a canape.

Wonton and egg (lomein) noodles

• serves

  8

• prep

  1:15 hour

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Wonton

• 70 g minced pork 
• 2 eggs (crack eggs into the pork mince to help combine all the ingredients)
• 30 g shelled and deveined medium prawns, finely chopped (optional)
• 4 water chestnuts, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 onions, diced
• ½ tsp ground white pepper 
• ½ tsp salt 
• 2 tsp fish sauce 
• 3 tsp honey or golden syrup – or alternatively 1½ tsp sugar
• 1-2 tsp olive oil or vegetable oil, plus extra to coat wontons after cooking
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 packets wonton wrappers (approximately 40 wrappers in a packet)

For the shallot sauce

• 6 spring onions, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 3 tsp sesame seeds
• ½ tsp salt 
• 3 tbsp water 

For the Lomein Sauce

• 4 tbsp oyster sauce
• 3 tbsp sweet soy sauce
• 1 tsp cracked pepper
• 3 tsp sesame oil
• 2-3 tbsp honey or golden syrup or 1-2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 bunches of chives, chopped to 4cm length

 

• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 packet egg noodles
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bag bean sprouts
• sliced spring onions, fried onions, sliced chilli and coriander, to serve  

Instructions

To make the wontons, combine all the ingredients (except the wonton wrappers) in a large bowl until evenly mixed.

Lay one wonton skin on your palm. (Cover the remaining wonton skins with a damp cloth towel to prevent them from drying out). Place a small amount of wonton filling in the centre of wonton wrapper. Fold the wonton wrapper in half (diagonally), ensuring the ends meet. Press down firmly on the ends to seal. Use thumbs to push down on the edges of the filling to centre it.

Keep thumbs in place, push both corners up and hold in place between your thumb and index finger (wet the corners of wrapper only if ends of wrapper are dried). Bring the two ends up to meet the other two ends at the centre point. Press to seal in the middle of the wonton (just above the filling). The finished wonton should look like a drawstring money bag.

To cook the wontons, bring a medium pot of water to the boil. Add the wontons five to ten at a time, and ensure there is enough room for them to move freely in the pot. Boil the wontons for 2-3 minutes, until they rise to the surface and the filling is cooked. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon. Repeat until all wontons are cooked.

Put the cooked wontons in a colander, add a sprinkling of extra olive oil to wontons so they won’t stick together and toss gently (see Note). 

To make the shallot sauce, mix all ingredients in a bowl and microwave for one minute.

To make the lomein sauce, combine oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, cracked pepper, sesame oil, and honey in a bowl, taste should be saltier than normal. Add 1 tbspn of olive oil to a frypan over medium heat. Add chopped chives and fry for 1-2 minutes until softened. Transfer cooked chives into the lomein sauce and mix it evenly.

Next cook the egg noodles. Fill a heavy based pot with water and bring it to the boil. Add 1 tbsp salt to the water.

Add noodles while water is boiling and leave for 20 seconds. Quickly transfer the noodles into a colander and rinse the noodles with cold water over the sink. Drain noodles in the colander.

Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and toss the noodles to prevent them sticking together. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl. Blanch the sprouts in a colander in boiling water and leave them to drain. Add sprouts and lomein sauce to the noodles and toss until ingredients are thoroughly combined.

To serve, take a handful of noodles and put them in a bowl or on a plate. Lay 6–8 wontons on top of the noodles

Spoon shallot sauce over the wontons. Garnish with chopped spring onions and fried onions. For colour, garnish with red chilli slices and coriander.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Note

Wontons can be prepared in advance and kept in the freezer. You can also use white-coloured wonton wrappers for an interesting presentation or to differentiate between different fillings.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.