August 10, 2023

Xiao Wontons (Shanghainese Baby Wontons)

These Shanghainese baby wontons are made with a simple pork filling and served in an easy broth with soy sauce, sesame oil, and ground white pepper. Adding in whispy dried seaweed . One of my fatal flaws when making these is adding too much filling! I used to get reminders that I was making “xiao wonton” (small wontons), not “da wonton” (big wontons). One of the few memories I have of cooking with my grandma is being mesmerized by how she could swiftly fold and seal the wontons with one hand in the blink of an eye.

I used (makes about 60-65 wontons):

  • 1 pack thin wonton wrappers
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • greens of 1 scallion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1 1/2 tbsp shaoxing wine
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp sugar

For the soup (makes 1 serving):

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • ground white pepper
  • boiling hot water, roughly 1-1.5 cups
  • a handful of dried layered seaweed (optional)
  • scallions
these are the thin wonton wrappers you’ll need
trace water around the filling to help seal

To make:

  • add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well until the ground pork has a sticky-like together
  • once well-combined, microwave a dollop of filling in the microwave for about ~30-40 seconds until it’s fully cooked, sample, and adjust filling to taste (it should be on the slightly saltier side to balance out the wrapper)
  • to fold wontons, place a small dollop of filling in the middle of the wrapper, then fold the wrapper in half and scrunch it up until it’s fully sealed. for wrappers that aren’t super fresh, dab some water around the filling to help it stick
  • cook wontons immediately or freeze for future you
  • to freeze: place the wontons flat on a tray/plate and let them freeze for 1-2 hours. Remove from plate and store in a plastic bag for future eats
  • to cook: bring a pot of water to a boil and add in wontons and bring to a boil. Add half a cup of cold water and bring to a second boil until all wontons are afloat. Make sure the water never boils too aggressively as it’ll tear apart the wrappers
  • serve in soup + enjoy!