This pork shrimp wontons recipe has become a family favorite. The wontons have amazing Asian flavors that are perfectly complemented by the tangy soy ginger dipping sauce.
Making pork and shrimp wontons can seem daunting. But trust me, it isn’t.
From the filling, to folding, to cooking, we have you covered.
You'll want to make extra so that you and your family can enjoy these flavor bombs any time you want.
How to make pork shrimp wontons
Wontons are a treat with some assembly required.
But wonton-making is actually a super-fun activity to do with kids.
(Or, in my case, a helpful hubby and a very eager-to-help cat).
The Wonton filling
For the meat filling, I use finely chopped shrimp and ground pork (raw).
These meats complement each other perfectly, and the fat from the pork gives added flavor and juiciness to the wonton.
A couple other ingredients that make this filling a stand-out from most wontons you've tasted is rehyrdated mushrooms and Maggi seasoning sauce.
First, we use rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, which give the wontons an intense, earthy-umami flavor that's out-of-this-world.
Once rehydrated, chop the mushrooms into a fine mince: this ensures that their texture won't stand out.
Second, we put in a few dashes of Maggi Seasoning Sauce, full of natural glutamates from yeast fermentation and full of umami.
Last, we add in soy sauce, sesame oil, fresh ginger, scallions, and cilantro.
Mix it all together with your hands.
The Wonton wrapper
You can find wonton skins at most well-stocked groceries, but for sure at Asian markets.
They come in a variety of shapes but I prefer round: these are the simplest to work with and don't require extra nifty tucks and folds. These also allow the largest "filling-to-unused wonton skin ratio." Ding, ding!!
Filling the wonton
From your meat mixture, dollop on a size large enough so that you will still be able to fold over the wonton.
You will want to leave about enough room to create a ½-inch seal around the open edge: you can see this in the finished wontons in the photo above.
How to fold wontons
Wet the wonton wrapper all along the outer ½ inch: that's where we'll make the seal. I keep a ramekin of water nearby so I can dip my fingers in as I work (see #2 in the collage below).
Then, fold it over to create a half-moon shape.
Before sealing by pressing down around all the edges, do your best to gently press as much air out of the filling as you can.
This helps prevent the wontons from puffing up too much as they cook.
How to cook wontons
My recipe pan-fries the wontons.
Note: You can use this same recipe if you want to boil or steam them. They will still be awesome.
Preheat a frying pan to medium-low.
Add enough oil to fully cover the bottom of the pan.
Once heated, add your wontons and cover the pan.
Do not overcrowd them: keep at least 1 inch of space between the wontons.
How long to cook wontons
Fry the wontons about about 2–3 minutes on each side.
Look after the first minute or so to ensure it isn't getting too dark.
Pro tip: Since all stove tops vary, I suggest you cook only one wonton first to get the temp and time down pat.
Then add all the remaining wontons after making making any adjustments.
How to make the soy ginger wonton dipping sauce
This dipping sauce pops with flavor.
It's a no-cook sauce: just a simple matter of mixing the ingredients (except for the scallions) until well incorporated.
Then, add the scallions right before you plan to serve the wontons.
I suggest making this sauce a few hours before serving because the flavors will meld and deepen.
Other Asian Favorites on the blog
A few of our other favorite Asian-inspired dishes are Michelle's Sweet & Zingy Asian Meatballs, Slow-cooker Sticky Chicken Wings, Soy-Miso Marinated Ramen Eggs, and Real-Deal Beef Pho Noodle Soup.
And that's it! Pork-Shrimp Wontons with Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce make for a cravable appetizer that's far, far better than anything you'd buy at a store.
I hope you love them!
—xoxo Michelle
Linkies
I'm sharing my recipe for Pork-Shrimp Wontons with Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce with:
- #CookBlogShare, a great food blogger recipe-share hosted this week at Recipes Made Easy.
- #CookOnceEatTwice, for recipes that are just as good left-over as they are when you made them, hosted by Searching for Spice.
- The What’s For Dinner Sunday Linkup at The Lazy Gastronome.
- Delicious Dishes Recipe Party, a weekly link party where bloggers share their most delicious recipes and check out other bloggers’ amazing recipes, hosted by Walking on Sunshine.
Recipe
Pork-Shrimp Wontons with Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce
Pork-Shrimp Wontons with Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce are a perfect snack for Super Bowl parties or Lunar New Year celebrations.
Ingredients
FOR THE WONTONS
- 1 lb ground pork, (lean pork is best)
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely minced (see Recipe Notes #1 and #2)
- ¼ cup dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, rinsed, squeezed to remove excess water, and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger, peeled and finely grated
- ½ cup scallions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- ¼ tsp Maggi seasoning sauce, (about 6 dashes)
- 40 wonton or gyoza wrappers, (also known as "wonton skins"; there are usually 35–40 in a package)
- 4 tbsp canola oil
FOR THE SOY-GINGER DIPPING SAUCE (see Recipe Note #3)
- 1 cup soy sauce
- ½ cup rice vinegar, (unseasoned)
- 4 tbsp ginger, (peeled and finely grated)
- 2 tbsp garlic, finely minced
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup scallions, finely chopped (green parts only)
Instructions
ASSEMBLE THE WONTONS
- Add all ingredients for the filling (through the Maggi seasoning sauce) to a mixing bowl and mix together with your hands until well incorporated. Set aside. Arrange your work area with a small bowl of water for dipping your fingers, the filling, a 1 tsp measuring spoon, the wrappers, and a plastic container with a lid.
- Lay a wonton wrapper onto a flat-work surface. Add 1 heaping tsp of filling to the middle of the wrapper (you can add more filling, but don't overdo it: you want to be able to make a tight seal all around). Dip your finger in the water and run it around the edge of the wrapper. Fold the edges together and press firmly with your fingers to seal, at the same time working any wayward filling back toward the center of the wonton (this is just to be sure that you don't have any blow-outs). Place the wonton into the plastic container and add the lid (this keeps the wontons from drying out). Repeat until you've used up all the wonton wrappers or run out of filling. You can fry up the wontons right away, keep them in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours, or freeze them (but see Recipe Note #2).
COOK THE WONTONS
- Heat 2 tbsp canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, place a single layer of wontons in the skillet (don't overcrowd the skillet!). Cook until the bottoms of the wontons begin to brown, about 1 minute.
- Flip the wontons, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 3 minutes, flipping the wontons as necessary to prevent burning. Repeat with another batch of wontons, adding more oil as needed, and so on until all wontons are cooked. Throughout this process, be very careful of splattering hot oil.
MAKE THE SOY-GINGER DIPPING SAUCE (see Recipe Note #3)
- Add all ingredients except for the scallions to a bowl and mix well until incorporated. Mix in the scallions just before serving.
Notes
- I pulse the shrimp a few times in a food processor.
- FOOD SAFETY WARNING: if you use shrimp that were previously frozen, it is NOT SAFE to freeze the wontons. If you're planning to freeze your wontons, cook the shrimp most of the way through before chopping: saute in a heated skillet over medium heat with about a tbsp of neutral-tasting oil until opaque, but not completely white or firm.
- You'll have plenty extra sauce. It's fabulous over stir-fries, fried rice, or noodles. If you don't want extra, cut the ingredients for the sauce in half.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 35 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
These look so delicious and definitely worth the effort. We've only had a small amount of snow here and embarrassingly my office closed at 3pm yesterday due to safety but there wasn't even any snow on the roads anymore! We're looking forward to the Super Bowl this year - I'll be supporting the Rams!
Michelle says
Oh, yay! I'm for the Rams too! That's so funny: I grew up in California and I remember school being closed for half and inch of snow! Thanks for stopping by, Cat!