Jade: Bitemywanton

I went to a boarding school for A-levels...some of the best years of my life. My only gripe was the scarcity of pork. Don't get me wrong, I was and am all for respecting cultures and in the grand scheme of things, no fatty meat seems a reasonable price to pay for a healthy heart and a 24'' waist. But I am Chinese...certain cravings cannot be helped..it's in my genes:( don't judge me. So one of the things I used to do when we were allowed out on weekends was sneak off to any cantonese restaurant I could find for my weekly bowl of wanton soup. And if anyone asked where I was, "I needed time to be alone with my thoughts". Thoughts about fat, crunchy wantons;)

My mum makes really good wantons, so when the cravings struck, I bought some wanton skins to wrap me some dumplings.

YCMama's Wantons:

500g minced pork [feel free to used minced chicken]

Dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and diced

4 spring onions chopped

200g prawns, roughly chopped, NOT minced [use more for more crunch]

5-6 water chestnuts, roughly chopped

1tbsp lard chopped [optional- my mum says it gives a better texture]

1 packet wanton skin

Seasoning:

Salt

Fish sauce

Sesame oil

Msg [optional]

2 heaped tbsp corn flour

1. Mix everything together and beat until sticky and almost gelatinous. It sounds vague I know, but that's all my mum said :( She also said not to skip the beating because that's what gives the wantons their bouncy texture.

2. Wrap. [ I picked this trick up from this really really old coffeeshop at home that serves the best dumplings. They roll out the wanton skins! So rather than wrapping straight from the packet, pick up your rolling pin, roll out the wanton skins to stretch them and you will end up with a silkily filmy casing. No more thick starchy wantons.]

3. Boil till wantons float and serve in hot clear both or with a hearty bowl of noodles..mmmm...perfect on a cold cold day.

* To freeze, since this recipe gives about 50 wantons, spread it on a baking tray, pop in the freezer for about half an hour to freeze them individually, then spoon into a freezer bag.