Sichuan Style Wontons in Spicy Chili Oil 紅油抄手
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If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that I absolutely adore two things in my life: 1) a bowl of juicy and meat wonton/dumpling and 2) anything sitting in a puddle of spicy chili oil.
Now, just imagine having both of the two in one tasty dish (already drooling)….
….Which brings us to the recipe I’d like to share today – Wontons in Spicy Chili oil – a popular Chinese street food I grew up eating in Sichuan.
This is a dish for all you spicy food lovers or wonton lovers out there. Especially if you already master your homemade chili oil, this is the next dish you absolutely should make!
If the freshly prepared wontons are the body of this dish, then a good homemade chili oil is the soul that makes this dish fly.
Depending on the quality of the chili oil you have, you either end up with a bowl of ass-kicking, mouth-watering wontons soaked in that spicy and aromatic chili oil sauce just like the one from the streets of Sichuan
or, you end up with a bland and uninspiring wontons in a spicy mess.
In this recipe, my goal is to help you achieve the former and I cannot overstate the importance of a good chili oil.
What makes this dish different
To make this authentic Sichuan style wontons in chili oil, first you want to start with freshly prepared pork filling. Fresh grounded pork is seasoned with simple seasoning. I’ll also show you a little trick to make your meat tender and juicy right in the recipe.
Next, use the Northern style wonton wrappers. These wrappers are thicker and doughier than the Cantonese style wrappers so they make wontons hold up better.
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Lastly and more importantly, the chili oil used in the sauce is what turns plain boiled wontons into a Sichuan classic
If you haven’t, please make your own chili oil by following this recipe. The 30 minutes you spend can instantly turn you into a pro in Sichuan cuisine.
How to Fold Wontons
Folding wonton might seem intimating but once you’ve gotten through the first few, you’ll realize it’s quite doable.
And I’ll make it super easy for you by breaking the process down step by step.
Heck, I’ll even show you 3 different ways of folding them so you can pick the one you like the most.
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One last thing before you jump onto the recipe, if you a not a pork guy, you can simply substitute the pork with chicken (recommended) or beef or even fish. Just experiment to see what works best for you.
Step by step recipe
How to Make Sichuan Style Wontons in Spicy Chili Oil 紅油抄手
Yield: 30 - 40 wontons
Prep Time: 40 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
Ingredients:
Pork Marinade
- 1tsp white pepper powder
- 1tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1tsp salt
- 1tsp soy sauce
- 1tsp sesame oil
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp water
Sichuan chili oil Sauce/dressing (for 2 servings)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2tsp Chinese Black vinegar
- 2 tbsp hot chili oil (plus more for drizzling)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 scallion, chopped
- cilantro, chopped (optional)
Directions:
Mix well with your tool of choice (spatula, spoon, chopsticks) until all the ingredients are incorporated. Then slowly drip the water into the filling while mixing until all the water is fully absorbed by the meat filling. This trick ensures your filling stays tender and moist after boiling.
Cover the filling and set it aside.
Combine all the chili oil sauce/dressing in a bowl. Mix the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
To assemble the wontons, you'll need the filing, wonton wrappers, and some tap water.
Here are many ways to fold wontons but I'll share 3 common ways that will work for this chili wonton dish.
Method 1:
Place a wrapper on your palm. Scoop a spoonful of filling into the center of the wrapper. Dip your finger in water and wet the edges of the wonton wrapper.
Fold the wrapper over to form a triangle. Carefully press down the edges to seal and try to leave as little air inside as possible.
Bring the two lower corners and slightly overlap them to form a "boat" shape. Make sure the corners are stuck together.
Repeat above process until you ran out of the wrappers or pork filling.
Method 2:
Place a wrapper on your palm. Scoop a spoonful of filling into the center of the wrapper. Dip your finger in water and wet the edges of the wonton wrapper.
Fold the wrapper over to form a rectangle. Carefully press down the edges to seal and try to leave as little air inside as possible.
Bring the two lower corners and overlap them to form a "boat" shape. Make sure the corners are stuck together.
Repeat above process until you ran out of the wrappers or pork filling.
Method 3:
Place a wrapper on your palm. Scoop a spoonful of filling into one of the corners.
Use a butter knife to flip the corner inward to wrap the filling.
Roll the wrapper one more time and gently press to squeeze out the air inside. Wet one side of the two corners.
Bring the two long corners together to form a “boat” shape.
Repeat above process until you ran out of the wrappers or pork filling.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the wonton for 4 minutes. Gently stir the wonton to prevent from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Transfer the wontons to a bowl and drizzle 2 tbsp. of the chili oil sauce + addtitional chili oil according to your own liking. Garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro (optional).
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This look so good!
thank you!
Hi Yi,
Some of our Chinese restaurant serves the chilli oil wontons with peanut butter paste or something that tastes like peanut butter and really creamy. Have you came across this style? As I am after a recipe for this variation. I am an amateur cook here – cook less than 20 meals per year so would appreciate any help provided.
Cheers, GG
The ones I’ve seen like that use tahini – a sunflower seed paste/nut butter used in hummus. Its wonderful mixed into the chili oil sauce!
Hi, wonderful recipe!
How long would the dip last if refrigerated?
Thanks if you can reply
Thanks for stopping by. I’d say up to 4 days however I always find way to use up this sauce within a day or two 🙂
WOW, This is Really GREAT Recipe, Thank you very much!
Thanks for checking out my recipe. Hope you get to try it soon – Yi
Thank you! Thank you! Absolutely delicious, the water hint was very good.
The sauce was SO delicious, I may make a few cups of it to keep in the fridge in case of delicious dipping sauce emergencies, 🙂
Hi Karen, thanks for checking out my site and glad you like the recipe. Yes that dipping sauce is addictively delicious and I practically use for anything from boiled vegetables to steamed meat. Hope you get to try some of other recipes too.
Love this recipe! So good! Love the chili and homemade wontons makes my heart sing. Take Care
Thanks. Yeah anything with chili oil is a win in my book 🙂
I actually began drooling, This is for sure being made this week!
Thanks Yi for your amazing inspiration.
Salivatingly yours,
-Jessica
Thanks Jessica. Please let me know how the wontons came out!
And I too love anything sitting in a bowl of chilli oil. 🙂 What beautiful little wontons! Thanks for showing us 3 ways to make them. I’ve never made wontons, but have always wanted to. This is going to be fun! Thanks!
yeah making wontons is actually not as hard as it looks. Hope you get to make these soon!
I miss Chongqing!!
me too! When did you go to Chongqing?
I feel so guilty seeing this post as I have been buying ready made wonton from Costco…I love how you fold them, and thanks for the tutorial…I love the chili oil…looks delicious!
I hope you are enjoying your week 🙂
Hi Juliana, when I am short on time, I also get pre-made wontons from time to time so there is no need to feel guilty. Enjoy the rest of your week too!
A fabulous dinner recipe! These lush wontons would make my family very happy. I had no idea there were two kinds of wonton wrappers. I always learn so much from your posts!
Thanks Deb for stopping by. Yeah the wonton wrapper variety can get a little confusing. The thicker/doughier one is definitely more preferred for this recipe.
This is one of my favorite quick meals or snack foods. I almost always have some wonton in my freezer. I take them out in the morning and put them in the fridge. They are defrosted when I get home. I just drop them in boiling water for a few minutes and then put some chili oil and sesame oil in a bowl and go to town!
I see you already have a great system worked out Joe! Yup the chili oil and sesame oil is such a magical combo!
Method 1 for me — similar to a way of making Italian-filled pasta. Anyway, this looks outstanding — you’ve outdone yourself with this recipe. Thanks!
Hi John, good spot on method one. I am still amazed by the similarity of the two dishes despite being two completely different cuisines.
Yi, I’ve been following your blog for about 4+ years now, you commented on a blog I used to run about living in Hong Kong. I’ve often used your recipes as I try to replicate flavors now that I am back in the US. I cannot wait to make these this weekend.
Hi Taylor, thanks for following my blog. I am so happy to hear that you are tried some of my recipes with success. That means a lot! Btw, I was briefly in HK earlier this week. Wish I could stay a little longer though.
I lived in Chengdu, now in Shanghai… and I’m so tempted to make these ones even though I can get some next door, but I know it’s never gonna beat my favorites ones in Sichuan ! I will definitely try them one day 🙂 Thank you for this recipe !
Hi Ly, I wish I could just roll out of my bed and get some of that spicy wontons from downstairs 🙂 Yeah the homemade ones are different. Just make sure you have some good chili oil on hand 🙂
I am drooling just looking at those dumplings swimming in hot chili oil. Your photos made me hungry. Thanks, Yi.
Thanks Ray. Yeah I, too, drool over every dish swimming in hot chili oil 🙂
Wow! Thanks so much for these folding instructions!! I’m making your milk bread again for Easter. Love these recipes!!
Thanks Jan!