Wontons

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Ingredients:
2 cups shredded napa cabbage
1/2 lb. ground pork or chicken
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, finely chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
60 wonton skins
2 to 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
Soy-Vinegar Sauce
Orange Sweet and Sour Sauce

Preparation:
Blanch the cabbage for 2 minutes in a saucepan of boiling water. Drain and let cool slightly. Then squeeze out the excess water. In a bowl, combine the cabbage with the pork, cilantro, green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Toss well.

Lay out 10 wonton skins on a work surface; keep the remainder covered. Place rounded 1/2 tsp. of filling in center of each skin; dampen the edges and fold over to form a triangle. Press out the air and seal the edges.
Dampen the two points farthest from each other and pinch them together to form a hat, or tortellini shape. Put the wontons on a flour-dusted baking sheet and cover with a clean towel. Repeat the procedure with the
remaining skins and filling.

To deep-fry the wontons, heat the oil to almost 400° in a wok. Add the wontons in batches of 10 and cook, turning once, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer wontons to paper towels to drain.

Wontons may be boiled instead. Just place wontons in saucepan of boiling water and cook in batches until they float. Remove from water and place in a colander to drain.

Variation:
Substitute spinach for the pork or chicken for vegetable wontons. Steam about 1 1/2 lbs. stemmed fresh spinach until just wilted, squeeze dry, and coarsely chop. In a saucepan, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 3
tablespoons water and simmer over low heat until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach. Add to the bowl in place of the pork.

History:
Food & Wine magazine May 1996 is the source for this recipe.