Tuesday, December 2, 2008

I'm a Won Ton Woman

It's true - I spent the better part of Sunday afternoon making yet another appetizer "test" for the upcoming Firebird Festival pre-party here at the house. This one's easier than it sounds. The reason it took me a few hours was because while mixing and wrapping, I was also fielding phone calls from my youngest, who was having fun finding a taxi to take her from hotel-to-campus. Long story. Boring, too. 'Nuff said.

Anyway, I've found a perfectly good won ton mixture that I think is a hit. You can add water chestnuts too, if you like. Whatever suits. I've made these for dinner before (and served them with bok choy and rice).

Won Ton and Peanut Dipping Sauce

1 bunch of asparagus
3 Tbs. fresh ginger
1 Tbs. fresh chives, cut up
1/2 cup frozen edamame, thawed
4 Tbs. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. red curry paste
1 tsp. (more or less) sesame oil
1 tsp. (more or less) rice vinegar

Make your dipping sauce first (recipe to follow).

In food processor, pulse ginger until it's minced. Put in bowl. Cut up asparagus and chives and add them and the edamame, soy sauce, oil and vinegar to processor, pulsing until chopped. Add to ginger. Mix in curry paste. Using won ton wrappers, put about a tsp. of mixture in the center of the wrapper. Moisten the edges and fold over to make a rectangle. Seal edges. To cook, place the won ton in a steamer basket and steam about 6 to 8 minutes tops. Serve hot with dipping sauce.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. red curry paste
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 Tbs. raw sugar (or brown sugar)
1 Tbs. lemon juice

Whisk milk and curry paste in saucepan. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat over low-to-medium heat, stirring often. Cook for about 5 minutes until it's heated through.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

This sounds so good!

Lori said...

It really is! The only issue I have, and continue to have with won ton, is keeping them from sticking to each other. I've sprayed both sides and put them on trays that have been sprayed, which seems to work, but they mangle up like nobody's business the minute they're steamed. Any ideas?

J3S TRAVEL & TOURS said...

Hmm...seems delicious! How about spraying a small amount of oil so that the won ton won't stick together..try it! Oil does the trick with pasta, so I guess it won't differ much with won ton.

Lori said...

I did that, coinpurse. For the most part, it worked okay. Thanks for the idea! I will say that frying them took care of it, too, but it made them a bit harder than I was hoping for.