It's a Wrap! or, Fiddling with Won Tons and Rice Paper

No matter what kind of restaurant you find yourself in, there is bound to be at least one type of 'wrapped' food on offer, Asian restaurants in particular. Whether it's Thai, Chinese, Japanese or Vietnamese cuisine, you will be tempted by lovely little spring rolls, pot stickers, Gyoza, dumplings and endless other dishes with endless other names. I have been making these types of things for years, without much thought apart from following a recipe, but last week, I decided to delve into things a bit deeper.

Asian 'wraps' tend to involve two main types of 'wrapper': Won Tons skins and Rice Paper. Purists and Dim Sum masters would add Shui Mai skins to the list. Shui Mai skins are very similar to Won Tons skins, just slightly thinner and more delicate. Won Ton skins come in small and large squares, as well as small rounds. The dough is very similar to pasta dough, in fact I have used won tons skins to make ravioli before! Rice Paper generally comes in the larger size, but can be either square or round. Rice Paper is very thin and dry, like, well, paper! When placed in warm water the sheets quickly soften and become pliable. Both are easily found in Asian markets or well-stocked grocery stores, and are inexpensive. Won Ton skins must be kept refrigerated and have a relatively short shelf life, but they can be frozen for a much longer period of time.

The list of ingredients that can go into the fillings is almost limitless. Ground pork and chicken are the most common meats used. Shrimp is very common, too. Tofu is common, as are vermicelli (rice noodles), bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, shredded cabbage, grated carrots and spring onions.

Seasonings include all the great Asian flavors of fresh herbs and roots, combined with sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, Chinese Rice Wine and other Asian sauces.

Clockwise, from top left: lemon grass, chilli peppers, coriander/cilantro, ginger, galangal and kaffir lime leaves

To start with, I looked at lots of recipes, both on AllRecipes.com and in my vast library of cookbooks. What I quickly came to realize, is that while there are 'traditional' dishes, there is lots of variation and no hard, set rules. For example, the cooking technique for pot stickers doesn't really vary, but the fillings can vary greatly.

For my pot stickers, I used ground pork, finely chopped spring onion, sesame oil and a bit of corn starch. I thoroughly mixed the filling, and then laid out about 6 small, square wonton wrappers on my cutting board. I put a spoonful of filling on each wrapper, and using my fingers, brushed some water around the edges of each wrapper to help them stick, or seal. I pulled the corners together above the filling and gently twisted and squeezed to seal the packet. If you want to be fancy, you can use a bit of spring onion or rice noodle to 'tie' up the little bundles. These are sometimes called 'moneybags' because they look like little sacks of cash, and are considered 'auspicious' or lucky in some cultures.

Making the Pot Stickers, six at a time...

The Pot Sticker Army! At this stage, these little guys can be frozen. When un-expected guests turn up, you can have them thawed and cooked in very little time. Way better than cheese and crackers!

Next, the Pot Stickers are fried in a little peanut oil, just until their bottoms begin to brown. They are called potstickers, because at this stage, they tend to 'stick to the pot'.

Pot Stickers Beginning to Fry...

...just until they're bottoms are browned. Then, I added about 1/2 inch of water to the pan, (WARNING: It WILL splatter! Be Prepared!) covered it and let the pot stickers steam for about 8 minutes. (I used an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperture for doneness.)

Plated and served with Soy-Sesame Sauce, Sweet Chilli Sauce and Soy Ginger Sauce

For my next dish, I decided to try an open topped steamed dumpling. Purists (and I'm sure this will be pointed out) would use a shao mai wrapper or dumpling skin rather than a won ton skin, which is a bit thicker. Many Asian markets do stock these, as well.

For my filling I used ground chicken, finely chopped mushrooms, spring onion, garlic and soy sauce. I filled the wrappers the same way I did for the pot stickers, but instead of pulling the corners all the way together at the top, I 'pleated' them together.

I also decided to try some other shapes and styles of dumplings
This 'fold' is decsribed in Mr. Kirk's Won Ton recipe on AR - a bit like a tortelini.

My variety of dumplings:

I steamed them in a traditional bamboo steam basket, but you can use a vegetable steamer or your rice maker.

Steamed and Plated!

This blog is proudly supported and sponsored by The Man's Veggie Garden! All carrots, spring onions and Bok Choy used were created there.

Now, a vegetarian Vietnamese Spring roll. I have briefly (20 seconds) soaked the sheet of rice paper in some warm water and placed it on my cutting board. I had also soaked some vermicelli noodles. I took a small handful of the noodles and cut them a bit shorter than the width of the paper and laid them down. Next, I added some grated carrot, fresh mint, fresh coriander, pea shoots and bok choy.

To roll, take the bottom edge or the sheet and fold in over the veggies.

Next, fold the sides in...

And, then fold the top down. Slice on the diagonal and plate! We had these with a Soy Dipping Sauce.

The Man, who is a strict Carnivore actually LOVED these vegetarian rolls!

Next, I wanted to try a fried rice paper roll. For the filling, I used ground chicken, finely grated ginger, finely chopped kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped red pepper, toasted sesame oil and a bit of corn starch.

Unlike the pot stickers and dumplings, I cooked the chicken mix before making the rolls.

I fried the rolls in some peanut oil in the wok and until they were nicely browned.

We enjoyed these with some Sweet Chilli Sauce. They were very good. In fact, it was lucky that the filling made it into the rice paper before someone ate it all!

And, finally, my favorite! I cut my rice paper in half, beacuse I am making small parcels. I have placed a few coriander/cilantro leaves in the center...

Then, I placed a small piece(about 1 inch square) of fresh salmon down, and folded up the sides.

Then, I steamed these on the steam rack in my rice cooker for about 4 minutes.

They look fantastic and taste even better! We enjoyed these with a Soy-Sesame Sauce, but my recipe calls for an Asian Pesto made of garlic, cashews. coriander/cilantro, basil and peanut oil.

So, next time you are planning an 'appy' night or a finger-food get-together, why not get fiddly with some Asian appetizers? The won-tons/potstickers/dumplings can be done ahead and frozen, and then just steamed on the day. The rice paper rolls can be done ahead and held in the fridge for a few hours. The 'fresh' roll can be served as is, the fried one would only require a few minutes to fry and would hold well in the oven.

Have fun!