Wontons are a great finger food and are easy to make – and kids will love assembling the little parcels!
Ingredients
- 30g(1oz) baby spinach leaves, well washed
- 125g (4½ oz) raw prawns, shell on
- 4-5 water chestnuts, quartered
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp grated fresh root ginger
- 1tsp mirin (sake/rice wine)
- 1tsp sugar
- 1tsp oyster sauce
- ½ tsp dark soy sauce, plus extra for dipping
- 12 wonton wrappers (available from Asian supermarkets in the chilled section)
Method
Put 1tbsp of water in a medium pan and heat until steaming. Add the spinach, cover and cook for 1-2 mins, until the spinach has wilted. Drain and allow to cool slightly, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
Transfer the spinach to a food processor, add the shelled prawns and water chestnuts, and whiz briefly, until chopped. Add the onions, ginger, mirin, sugar, oyster sauce and soy sauce, and pulse until the prawns are roughly chopped.
Lay a wonton wrapper on a chopping board and dampen the edges. Put 2tsp of the filling in the centre of the wonton and bring the corners together. Pinch just above the filling to seal. Alternatively fold over to form a triangle.
Sit the wonton on a baking sheet lined with cling film, and cover with another piece of cling film. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and filling. The wontons will sit, covered, in the fridge for a couple of hours. If keeping any longer, follow the freezing instructions (below).
To cook, line the base of a steamer basket with a circle of non-stick baking parchment (the Chinese often use lettuce leaves!) and place the wontons on top. Sit the steamer over a pot of boiling water and cover. Steam for 8 mins, until cooked
all the way through. Serve with extra soy sauce for dipping.
Top tip for making Annabel Karmel’s ‘moneybag’ wontons
Annabel recommends keeping the pile of wonton wrappers covered with damp kitchen paper and a piece of cling film to stop them drying out.
