Enjoy these Vegan Wontons in Chilli Sauce any time of the year but be sure to fold them to represent golden ingots to bring you wealth at the Lunar New Year. Find out more below.
Delicious Dumplings for the New Year
Making wontons at home is an incredibly satisfying process. With store bought wonton wrappers you can create something that will impress your friends and family because they are both beautiful and delicious!
Traditionally wontons like these are filled with pork, beef or shrimp. My vegan version uses a mix of tofu and shitake mushrooms to mimic traditional wontons as closely as possible.
For the Chinese New Year it’s traditional to fold wontons into the Golden Ingot Shape this is to bring your friends and family wealth for the coming year.
Jump to:
How to make Vegan Wontons in Chilli Sauce
Vegan Wonton Filling Ingredients
I’ve tried to get the wonton filling as close to a traditional recipe as possible whilst still making it vegan. I think it’s fair to say this recipe is inspired by Chinese wontons rather than being authentic!
Instead of meat or fish I’ve used a mix of tofu and shitake mushrooms. They are both good “flavour sponges” which soak up the seasonings in the filling. They are also good at retaining moisture and so won’t dry out during the cooking process. You want a nice juicy filling!
You will need to chop the shitake mushrooms really finely so get practising your knife skills.
Folding the wontons
When using store bought wonton wrappers it’s important that they are at room temperature. When you bought them they may have been frozen or refrigerated but we want them at room temperature so that they are more pliable and won’t tear or break apart when folding!
Before you start filling and folding your wontons I recommend you set up your work stations as follows:
- A small bowl of warm water
- Your carefully separated wonton wrappers
- The bowl of filling with a teaspoon
- A tray or plate to place the folded wontons
The method for folding the wontons is surprisingly simple and after just your first few you will become a pro!
- Place 1 wrapper on a flat surface or in the centre of your hand.
- Add 1 heaped teaspoon of the filling (or 1 tablespoon if your wonton wrappers are particularly large) and press it down gently to pack in the filling.
- Dip your finger in the water and lightly wet the edges of the wrapper.
- Fold the wrapper into half until you have a triangle.
- Carefully press down on and around the filling to remove any air pockets. This will seal the edges and prevent it from bursting when cooked.
- Wet one bottom corner of the triangles with water and bring both ends together.
- Press down both tips to seal well.
- Place the folded wonton on to a tray or plate and repeat until you have used up all the wrappers and filling.
Cooking the Wontons
You can boil, steam, pan fry or even deep fry wontons.
In this recipe we boil our wontons until they are tender. We then pour over the chilli sauce.
To do this simply bring a pan of water to a rolling boil then add 5 – 8 wontons to the water. Make sure that they aren’t crowded together. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the wrappers have softened and the filling is cooked.
The chilli sauce is made with a range of spices and the broth from cooking the wontons. Find the full instructions below.
How to make the Chilli Sauce
Chilli Sauce Ingredients
There are some specialist ingredients you're going to need to make this chilli sauce. Hopefully you'll already have soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and ginger and if not they can easily be bought at the supermarket.
But, you might need to go to an Asian supermarket to get Sichuan peppercorns and spicy bean paste.
Sichuan peppercorns are not actually related to black pepper or chilli peppers, they are the dried husks of the seeds from a certain type of plant. They are a key ingredient in Sichuan cuisine and are known for their unique numbing and tingling sensation, rather than heat like chilli peppers. Sichuan peppercorns have a citrusy, floral aroma with slightly woody and earthy undertones. They are commonly used in dishes like mapo tofu, kung pao chicken (or tofu for us vegans!), and Sichuan hot pot.
Here are some other recipes on the blog that use Sichuan peppercorns:
Spicy bean paste is another common ingredient in Sichuan cuisine, and it is known for its deep umami, salty, and spicy flavour. It’s made from fermented broad beans, soybeans, salt, wheat flour, and chilli peppers.
Look out for the word Doubanjiang (豆瓣酱) on labels.
Making the Chilli Sauce
Making the Chilli Sauce is easy, you simply mix all of the ingredients together with some of the cooking water from the wontons. Drizzle it over the wontons and serve! Simple!
Top Tips
- If you’re familiar with ravioli, gyoza or pierogis you can use the same folding technique for these Vegan Wontons in Chilli Sauce.
- The filling can be prepared up to one day in advance. Keep it in the fridge until you are ready to assemble.
- You can steam, pan fry or even deep fry wontons for a different texture.
- While you make and cook each wonton, you can cover the made wontons with a tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
- When cooking the wontons carefully move them around in the pan to stop them sticking.
- You will know when the wontons are done as they will float and the wrappers will have become translucent.
FAQ
Yes! Wontons can actually be made in advance and stored in the freezer.
Place wrapped uncooked wontons on a tray. Make sure there is enough space between each one so they don’t stick. Freeze for 3-5 hours until hardened before transferring to a container or bag.
The best thing is that these wontons can be cooked from frozen, simply increase the cooking time accordingly.
You should be able to find wonton wrappers in your local Asian supermarket.
If not, you can also buy them online via Amazon Fresh and other online supermarkets.
Spicy bean paste is a specialist ingredient that you'll need to buy from an Asian supermarket.
It's usually in a jar or plastic tub and keeps for a long time in a cool, dry place.
Sichuan peppercorns are another specialist ingredient that you'll need to buy from an Asian supermarket or online.
They last well in the cupboard so I buy a big bag at a time.
The recipe
Vegan Wontons in Chilli Sauce
Ingredients
For the wontons
- 40 wonton wrappers
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 inch root ginger peeled and minced
- 0.5 bunch coriander finely chopped
- 2 spring onions thinly sliced
- 6 shiitake mushrooms
- 230 g extra firm tofu crumbled until the consistency of mince
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing rice wine
- 1.5 tablespoon light soy sauce
- pinch ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
For the chilli sauce
- 120 ml wonton broth water used to cook wontons or hot water
- 2 tablespoon spicy bean paste
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 inch root ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns ground
Instructions
To make the filling and shape the wontons
- In a bowl, mix together the crumbled with all of the other ingredients for the wonton filling.
- Prepare your work surface with a bowl of water, your wontons wrappers, your filling and a tray or plate to place them on before cooking.
- Place 1 wrapper on a flat surface or in the centre of your hand.
- Add 1 heaped teaspoon of the filling (or 1 tablespoon if your wonton wrappers are particularly large) and press it down gently to pack in the filling.
- Dip your finger in the water and lightly wet the edges of the wrapper.
- Fold the wrapper into half until you have a triangle.
- Carefully press down on and around the filling to remove any air pockets. This will seal the edges and prevent it from bursting when cooked.
- Wet one bottom corner of the triangles with water and bring both ends together.
- Press down both tips to seal well.
- Place the folded wonton on to a tray or plate and repeat until you have used up all the wrappers and filling.
- Cover with a tea towel to stop them drying out while you make and cook the other wontons.
To cook the wontons
- Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil.
- Add 5 – 8 wontons to the water. Make sure that they aren’t crowded together.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes until the wrappers have softened and the filling is cooked.
- Remove from the water and transfer to a large plate or bowl.
- Repeat this for the rest of the wontons.
- Remember, don’t discard the water after cooking since it’ll be used for the sauce.
To make the sauce
- Mix a ladle of the hot broth, with the rest of the ingredients for the sauce and mix well.
- Pour over the hot wontons and enjoy.
Leave a Reply