Really, I couldn’t think of a better dish than wontons. They are familiar to many. The redaction turned out well, tastes nice, and is easy to replicate.
Give it a try and enjoy your wontons. Let me know how you went in the comments below.
Until next time, may your stomach never know famine.
~Natal’ia
Original (translated by Alec Story):
Finely mince meat, and add riced bamboo shoots or wild rice shoots [Zizania latifolia], garlic chives [Allium tuberosum], or vine flowers [“climbing or trailing vines, including various species of wisteria or liana”] - any of them work. Take Sichuan pepper [Zanthoxylum simulans], almonds and a little [soy?] sauce evenly mixed and bundle it all together, with a skin laid out slightly thick, cut square, and again use pure flour to withstand thinness. Add them to boiling water [or broth?]. When boiling, use a rolling boil so that they turn over, and do not cover the pot. Wait for them to float, and then lift them, but you may not stir. In the filling, do not use fructus amomi [Amomum villosum], which will cause burping.
Natal’ia’s Redaction:
Ingredients:
Wonton Wrappers
500g Minced Chicken
100g Bamboo Shoots, finely diced
2 tsp Szechwan Pepper, very finely ground
1 tsp Apricot Kernel Paste (or 1 tsp pasted almond and 1 tsp sweet juice)
Optional:
1 tsp Brown Cardamom, finely crushed
2 litres Chicken Stock (for serving)
Method:
- Mix thoroughly: chicken, bamboo shoots, Szechwan Pepper, Apricot Kernel, and Brown Cardamom (if using).
- Separate wonton wrappers and place on flat service.
- Place 1 tsp meat mixture into the centre of each wrapper and fold.
- Raise a pot of salted water to the boil and poach the wontons for 4 minutes or until they are cooked through. Make sure not to over fill pot as they cook, allowing for movement of the wonton through the water.
- Arrange in tureen for serving. To keep wontons hot, cover with hot chicken broth.
Makes about 50 wontons.
Notes:
I used finely sliced bamboo shoots as they are easily available but any of the following could be used in their stead:
- Wild-Rice Shoots (Zizania latifolia)
- Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum)
- Basella rubratips