Vegetarian Wontons
(this recipe makes about 3 dozen)
Prep time for these includes stuffing the wonton wrappers. This is fun when done with a
buddy.
3 frozen veggie burgers (I used Boca Flame Grilled in the test
recipe)
1/3 cup minced onion
1/3 cup chopped water chestnuts
1 T rice vinegar
3 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
2 T finely chopped fermented black beans
1 T Mirin (sweet sake)
1/4 t. ground ginger
1 t. szechwan ground pepper
wonton wrappers
Partially thaw the veggie burgers, then chop them into very small pieces. Mix together with all the ingredients except the wrappers. For each wrapper, place a generous teaspoon full of filling in the center of the wrapper. Dampen two adjacent edges of the wrapper, fold the wrapper in half diagonally to enclose the filling. Press edges together to seal. Fold the long ends of the triangle together.
Deep fry the wontons in about 2" of hot oil until they look light brown and crispy. The oil should be about 360º.
Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 T sugar
a few drops of chili oil
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
Mix these ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved. Serve with the wontons for dipping.
About the unusual ingredients:
Some of these ingredients may be a little difficult to find, but are available in a well stocked grocery store or Asian market. You could probably eliminate the fermented black beans without a big loss of flavor. Subsitute sweet sherry for the Mirin if necessary. Szechwan peppercorns are wonderful if you can find them, they have a smokey peppery taste.