Chicken wontons in chili oil
Silky homemade chicken wontons boiled in minutes and spooned with a garlicky chili oil sauce, a restaurant favorite you can fold at home.
- 60 min total
- 45 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.29 a serving
- 510 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 4 stalks green onions, finely chopped, divided
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tsp sesame oil, divided
- 36 wonton wrappers
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
Each serving has about 510 calories, 29 g protein, 46 g carbs and 23 g fat, and costs about $2.29 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No ground chicken? Ground turkey works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the chicken, half the green onions, the ginger, 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil, the cornstarch, salt and pepper in a bowl. hard in one direction 1 minute, until sticky.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Set out the wrappers, a small bowl of water and a lined with .
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Put 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle of a wrapper, wet the edges with your finger, fold it into a triangle and press out the air. Wet one bottom corner, bring the two bottom corners together and .
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Dolly’s tip: Don’t overfill. A teaspoon looks tiny, but more makes them burst in the water.Repeat with the remaining wrappers, keeping the finished wontons under a towel, then wash your hands.
Dolly’s tip: To freeze, freeze them on the tray, then bag them. Boil from frozen for 6 to 7 minutes.Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Bring a large pot of water . Meanwhile, put the garlic, pepper flakes and sugar in a heatproof bowl.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Heat the vegetable oil in a small over medium 2 minutes, until it , then carefully pour it over the garlic. It will sizzle loudly.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Pour slowly and keep your face back. The sizzle is what toasts the garlic and chili.the remaining soy sauce, the vinegar and remaining sesame oil into the chili oil.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the wontons in two batches 4 to 5 minutes, until they float and the filling of a cut one is 165°F in the middle.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
High heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Food safety: Ground turkey and ground chicken are done at 165°F, with no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Lift them into bowls with a slotted spoon, spoon over the chili oil, and scatter the remaining green onions and cilantro on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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