Wonton Wrappers
Servings: 60-80 pieces depending on how thin you make them to be.
That’s right. You read that correctly.
Go ahead, call me names. I am indeed a nutter. Fuschia Dunlop warned me. She said, making wonton wrappers which are thin yet strong is an art not to be attempted by casual cook. I presumptuously thought I was above the casual cook. Serves me right for being so cocky, I hear you mutter.
But, oh, what great reward. I’ve been looking for really silky and thin wrappers and all the store-bought ones never meet the standard. This is it. Perfect wonton wrapper at my beck and call.
One to always get herself into trouble, I think I’ll repeat this sadistic experience until I can say I’m at ease with the whole process. For you, I can only say that if you think your life is perfect and you want to spoil it a little so that it’s not jinxed, go ahead and make this. Add a little suffering to your good little life. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Note: it’s best to use the wrapper quickly. Put in your filling and dump the wrapped wonton immediately into boiling water. Have someone else fish it out the moment it’s cooked and keep the wonton warm on a plate drizzled with oil to prevent sticking. Wrapping the whole batch then cooking them won’t work as the juice from the meat permeates the wrappers and makes them wet and sticky as I painfully found out.
Ingredients:
450 g all purpose flour
200 ml cold water
1 egg
Directions:
Mix the flour, water and egg together and knead on a floured surface until elastic. Keep in cling-wrap for 30 minutes then roll out until thin and transparent.
My method of rolling? I smooth the dough using the widest setting (in my case 1) then proceed to 3, and 5, sprinkling corn flour obsessively after each roll. Then, I cut the dough to shorter pieces and roll each short piece at setting 7, the second thinnest setting in my pasta machine, to finish. Cut into appropriate squares. Don’t forget to dust the cornflour everywhere, especially the cut sides, to prevent sticking.
