Fried Pork, Shrimp & Shitake Wontons

‘Tis the season of Potlucks! A quick look at wikipedia reveals that the term potluck most probably came from the Irish. A meal with no particular menu, everyone brings a dish for all to share. Irish women would gather together to cook dinner, having only one pot to cook in, they would use whatever ingredients they happened to have that day so you really got the “luck of the pot!”

For our first potluck dish this holiday season, I wanted to make something special for our friends’ (Kathy & Andy) dinner party. These are opportunities to cook something special to share with others, not a stop-by-the-market-and-pick-up-something-on-the-way type of thing!

The dish went through many iterations in the brain of Cuc 😉 I started in my comfort zone. . . knowing how much this particular family lovvvves my Vietnamese shrimp egg rolls, I could’ve played it easy and stuck to it! BUT . . . Josh and I spent the past couple of weeks helping a good friend out by rolling some Boudin eggrolls for a HUMONGOID (like 1500 of ’em) catering order she had. (Shout out to Lisa!) I had been thinking about trying my hand at my own Boudin egg roll, with homemade boudin!

To make a long story short, I settled on wontons because my HEB did not sell vietnamese egg roll wrappers that I would’ve needed for the Boudin eggroll recipe and all I could find at the nearby Japanese market were wonton wrappers! LOL! Yes, I was too lazy to drive an extra 5 miles and bear the traffic and the drizzlling rain to my regular Asian market in Chinatown!

I think I made the right choice! Keomany’s kiddos had dozens of them EACH!! 🙂

Here is the recipe (makes 100 pieces):

BUY:

1 lb ground pork
1 lb shrimp (peeled and pounded into a rough paste)
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion
5 medium to small shitake mushrooms
onion powder, garlic powder, coarse black pepper
2-3 tsp of fish sauce
2-3 tsp of Maggi sauce
1 tbsp of minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup chopped green onions or scallions
2 packs of wonton wrappers (50 each) – place in fridge to defrost if frozen)
1 egg (beaten)

PREP:

Mix all ingedients in large bowl (except the wrappers and egg)
Set your wrapping station up. Place beaten egg in a shallow bowl, and separate wrappers (this should be relatively esy, wonton wrappers are dusted with flour on both sides to keep them from sticking together). Place a large sheet of parchment paper as the wrapping surface on your table.
Take one wrapper, dip your finger in the egg wash and run it around the perimeter of the wrap as a “glue” for the wonton
With a spoon, scoop the meat mixture (about nickel size) onto the center of your wrapper. Fold one corner to the opposite corner and press corners together to make them stick. With your index finger, push one of the opposing corners in towards the center of the wonton. Repeat on the other end. Make sure all the sides are sealed well. Place on parchment paper and continue wrapping more wontons.

Pre-heat oil in fry-daddy or pan to 350 degrees

CUC:

Place 8-10 wrapped wontons in the fryer or pan (do not overlap them)
Wontons are light and because air may be trapped inside of the pockets, these will float to the top of the oil. Make sure you turn them to ensure both sides are golden brown and meat is cooked through. (3-4 minutes cooking time)
Place on paper towels to drain excess oil and serve with dumpling sauce!