Treat Those Cravings With This Recipe For Pork And Prawn Wontons & Sichuan Chilli Oil

Whether it’s tortellini, dumplings or ravioli, it seems that we as a species love parcels of seasoned meat wrapped in dough. And why wouldn’t we? It’s a delicious combo!

These pork and prawn wontons are super easy to make, incredibly tasty and are a great excuse to bring the team together. Use them as a comfort meal for quiet nights in, special occasions or a platter for a party. You’ll even end up with a cheeky jar of Sichuan chilli oil for your troubles… So what are you waiting for? Go get folding!

Pork And Prawn Wontons With Sichuan Chilli Oil

Makes: 45 Wontons

Ingredients:

Wontons:
• 170g of pork mince
• 80g of prawn flesh (very finely chopped if you’re not using a blender)
• 40g of water chestnuts (finely chopped)
• 15g of chives (thinly sliced)
• 1 tsp of fish sauce
• 1.5 tsp of soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp salt (more if needed)

Sichuan Chilli Oil:
• 450ml of grapeseed oil (or other neutral tasting oil)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 star anise pods
• 1 Tbsp of coriander seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 10g of sichuan peppercorns
• 50g of chilli flakes
• 2 tsp of rice wine vinegar
• 1⁄4 tsp of MSG (optional)

Garnishes:
• fried shallots
• thinly sliced chives

Method:

Wontons:

• In a large bowl or blender, combine the minced pork, prawns, water chestnuts, chives, fish sauce, soy sauce, corn flour and salt until smooth. Test for seasoning by cooking a small amount of the filling in a pan and tasting. Add more salt to the filling if required.

Folding:

• Place a teaspoon of the pork and prawn filling in the centre of the wonton wrapper.

• Fold the wrapper from corner to corner, creating a triangle. Seal together with a little dab of water along the edges.
• Squeeze around the filling to remove any pockets of air. If you leave any air pockets in the wonton then they’ll burst while cooking.

• Bend the wonton slightly in the middle, by pulling the two corners down to 8 o’clock and 4 o’clock positions respectively.

• Join the tails together at 6 o’clock. Seal together with a squeeze and a little dab of water.

• Grab a friend and/or put on some music and repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers.

Sichuan Chill Oil:

• In a medium sized saucepan, add your neutral oil, garlic cloves, star anise, whole coriander seeds, cinnamon stick and whole Sichuan peppercorns.
• Over low heat, simmer the aromatics until the garlic has browned and softened (about 15-20 minutes).
• Prepare a large heat-proof bowl filled with your chilli flakes, rice wine vinegar and MSG (optional).
• Slowly strain the oil into the large bowl containing the chilli flakes. Do this slowly, as the oil will bubble vigorously as you add it. Pouring to quickly could cause the oil to overflow and lead to burns.
• Once strained, discard of the strained aromatics and set the Sichuan chilli oil aside until needed.

Note: You are now in possession of a super aromatic and delicious chilli oil that makes for a great gift and keeps for ages. Use it on eggs, meat, pasta, cheese, in a vinaigrette or even steamed veges. The list is endless.

Putting It All Together:

• Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Season it with salt until it tastes as salty as the sea.
• Once boiling, reduce the water to a simmer and cook the wontons in batches for 5 minutes each or until the filling is firm and cooked through.
• Use a spider to remove the wontons from the pot and allow to drain for a moment.
• Serve the pork and prawn wontons topped with your Sichuan chilli oil, fried shallots and some thinly sliced chives.

Recipe and photos by Kale Armstrong.