Fried Wontons

By Genevieve Ko

Published January 17, 2023

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Sue Li. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
3(81)
Comments
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Crunchy on the outside with a juicy shrimp filling, these deep-fried wontons are the ultimate party food. (You can use storebought or make your own wontons with this recipe.) To make sure they cook to the ideal golden brown crispness, avoid crowding the pan of hot oil. Each batch takes only a few minutes to fry, and the wontons still taste great when served warm. Better yet, welcome guests into the kitchen and serve the wontons as they’re ready. The spicy sweet-and-sour dipping sauce can be prepared ahead, making this party dish even easier.

Featured in: Easy, Festive Dishes for Chinese New Year at Home

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Ingredients

Yield:50 wontons

FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE

  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar

  • ¼ cup distilled white vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons sambal oelek, Sriracha or other red chile sauce

  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

FOR THE WONTONS

  • 4 to 6 cups peanut or canola oil, for frying

  • 50 fresh or frozen wontons

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the sauce: Combine the sugar, vinegar, sambal, garlic and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally, until syrupy, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a dipping bowl and cool to room temperature. The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to a week; bring back to room temperature before serving.

  2. Step 2

    Fry the wontons (you can use storebought or make your own wontons with this recipe): Fill a heavy saucepan with oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat over medium-high until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360 degrees. Working in batches, add the fresh or frozen dumplings to the hot oil (avoid crowding) and fry, turning to evenly cook, just until golden brown and crisp, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve hot or warm with the dipping sauce.

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Ratings

3 out of 5
81 user ratings
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Comments

klbeasley

The NYTcooking Instagram account has a video showing 4 different methods of folding. It looks very achievable and helps the instructions above make sense https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnngE3YB-M3/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Mike

Ummm...where's the recipe for the shrimp filling?

Mike

Ummm...where's the recipe for the shrimp filling?

Sybil Franklin

Do yourself a favor and buy the wontons ....Trader Joe's has very good wontons and will make this much less time consuming.

John Anderson

this was good. Added some hungarian paprika to spice up the sauce.. it did

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