| Wonton, or Chinese dumpling, is a staple food | | | | beans with corn, preserved vegetables with black |
| popular throughout China. As a Cantonese I am | | | | fungus... exciting! |
| proud to say that the word Wonton comes from | | | | Sichuan Wonton |
| Cantonese rather than Mandarin, as the dumplings | | | | Known as "Chao Shou" (crossed hands), they also |
| were likely introduced to the West by early | | | | have a white, relatively thick wrapping. Chao Shou |
| settlers in Chinatown, who came primarily from | | | | is boiled and served in very, very spicy sauce, as |
| the Cantonese-speaking coastal cities in Southern | | | | in almost all Sichuan cuisine. |
| China. | | | | As to why this particular dumpling is called Chao |
| In Chinese, wonton means "swallowing clouds". If | | | | Shou, I think its name originates from how it is |
| you are familiar with Chinese art you may also | | | | wrapped: the wrapping is first folded into a |
| find that the wonton, floating in the broth, | | | | triangular shape and the two sides of the triangle |
| resembles the traditional "spiral cloud" motif in | | | | is brought to the front, overlapping each other, |
| Chinese handicrafts. One famous example: The | | | | resembling a person folding his arms. |
| Torch for the Beijing Olympics is known as the | | | | The Shanghainese wonton is also folded into a |
| "Lucky Cloud Torch" in Chinese. | | | | triangle, but a slight twist in the second folding |
| Wontons are slightly different in various part of | | | | gives it a lovely shape. For the Cantonese style, |
| China. May I give you an introduction? | | | | the wonton is simply wrapped by bringing the four |
| Cantonese Wonton | | | | corners together and squeeze. Cantonese |
| The Cantonese wonton has a yellow wrapping | | | | wontons first appeared as street foods, and |
| (made from flour and egg: think pasta sheet) | | | | hawkers got to find the quickest way to wrap up |
| typically filled with minced pork and shrimp. The | | | | the wontons. |
| dumplings are usually served in egg noodles, a | | | | You may have noticed that I never mention fried |
| type of thin, very chewy (almost like rubber | | | | wontons. Yes, we never fry our wontons. They |
| band) noodle prevalent in Southern China. | | | | are boiled, then served in plate or in a bowl of |
| Interestingly, the preparation of the broth is an | | | | broth. That's why they are also known as the |
| art in itself -- all the best wonton shops have their | | | | Wonton Soup. |
| own secret recipes for the soup base; but in | | | | What's the Difference Between Jiaozi (Gyoza) and |
| general, shrimp shells is believed to be a major | | | | Wonton? |
| ingredient. | | | | Oh, they are different. Jiaozi, or Gyoza in |
| Shanghainese Wonton | | | | Japanese, are basically potstickers: they have a |
| This type of Chinese dumpling has a white, thicker | | | | thicker wrapping, with texture similar to thick |
| wrapping (made from flour only) and the filling | | | | ravioli wraps. They also take a longer, flatter, |
| includes minced pork and Shanghainese bok choy. | | | | horn-like shape ("Jiao" sounds like "horn" in |
| In some variations chopped leeks and spring | | | | Mandarin). Depending on the provinces in China |
| onions are added. For the soup, the soup base is | | | | you can taste jiaozi made from pork, beef, lamb, |
| usually made from mixing soy sauce, water and a | | | | chicken or fish mixed with a wide variety of |
| bit of seasoning, mostly to give color to the | | | | vegetables. They can be boiled, steamed, or |
| unappealing white appearance. (White is a taboo | | | | pan-fried, and are served with dipping sauce. Red |
| color for traditional Chinese because it is | | | | vinegar, soy sauce and chili sauce are among the |
| associated with death). | | | | most popular. |
| While minced pork remains the most popular | | | | Now that you know so much more about |
| ingredient, international cuisines have inspired a lot | | | | wonton, maybe your next wonton soup will taste |
| of new varieties: chicken with mushroom, carrot, | | | | even better! |