Ever wonder how to make those delicious crunchy wonton strips served at Asian restaurants? What my friend likes to call “Chinese chips”, those crunchy wontons add wonderful texture to soups and salads. Most commonly served with Egg Drop Soup, Hot & Sour Soup, and Wonton Soup, I even like to put them in my Miso Soup!
Those strips were always my favorite when we went out to eat, and usually the bowl at our table would have to be replenished before our entrees came out. I always wanted to eat them at home, but I could never find them in the grocery store. After getting curious enough, I finally tried to make them myself, and I was shocked at how simple it is! The only downside is now we don’t have as much of a reason to go out to eat, since I can make everything there myself.
This recipe might be a little intimidating since it involves frying, but deep frying doesn’t have to be this huge ordeal.Anyone can fry things in the kitchen, it doesn’t need a huge pot and gallons of oil. All you need is a small pot, enough oil to cover the food you want to fry, a slotted spoon or utensil to get the food out of the pot, and paper towels drain the food. It might seem scary at first, but really it’s not that hard!
Recipe – Restaurant Style Crispy Wonton Strips:
– Place a few sheets of the egg roll wrappers on your cutting board and cut the sheets in half, giving you two big rectangles 3 by 6 inches.
– Stack the halves on top of each other, then start cutting the halves into horizontal strips.You can make them as thick as you want, I like to divide it into 8 strips measuring 3/4 by 3 inches.
– Repeat the process with the remaining strips until all the sheets have been cut.
– Prepare your oil by heating a small pot with just enough oil to cover the food. Turn the burner on to medium high heat and wait until the oil reaches the right temperature before frying. You want it to be between 350 and 365 degrees, but if you don’t have a thermometer, don’t worry! You use can use a test piece by dropping it into the oil and seeing what happens. If it starts to bubble right away like it does in the picture below, it’s warm enough! If it starts to smoke, it’s too hot, so turn the temperature down and wait a couple of minutes before you try again.
– Working in small batches, take a handful of strips and place them carefully in the oil with your slotted spoon. If the pieces are sticking together, you can shake them around a little bit to separate, but you don’t need to stir them much.
– Let them cook until they turn golden.
– Carefully scoop up the strips with your spoon, and hold them to the side of the pan for a few seconds to let some of the oil drip off.
– Transfer them to some paper towels to let any excess oil drip off. Be sure not to crowd the strips on the towels, otherwise the oil might not drip off as well.
Repeat the process with the remaining strips, then add them to soups, salads, wraps, or even enjoy them just as they are!!
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