Since making our pork flower dumplings a couple weeks ago, those leftover wonton wrappers have just been calling out to us. “Please use me, for the love of god please use me!” could be heard every time we opened the refrigerator door. These exclamations probably rang so clear because there they were, right there on the top shelf on the side of the fridge door. Not hidden way in the back or in one of the drawers or lost under a pile of stuff. Right there on the side of the door. So, being that the refrigerator door is opened multiple times a day, we caved. This time, we went veggie. We minced up some sturdy vegetables like jicama, carrot, and celery, gave them a soak in a savory sauce, and then deep fried them to get a crunchy golden exterior. The really neat thing is that they are more flavorful than almost any meat dumpling I’ve had! Some cinnamon sprinkled on top adds a nice final touch and helps round out the sweet, savory inside with a bit of fragrant spice on the outside.
Ingredients
1 scallion, minced
¼ cup minced jicama
¼ cup minced carrot
¼ cup minced celery
2 teaspoons minced ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
½ teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon rice wine
2 tablespoons chicken broth
16-20 wonton wrappers
canola oil, for frying
pinch of cinnamon
sweet and sour sauce, for serving
Instructions
Place the scallions, jicama, carrot, celery, ginger, and garlic in a medium-sized bowl. In a small bowl, whisk soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, rice wine, and chicken broth. Pour the liquids over the vegetables. Let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes. Take a wonton wrapper and place in the palm of your hand. Place ½ tablespoon of the mixture in the middle. Dab water around two adjacent sides of the wrapper, then bring up the other two sides of the wrapper to form a triangle. Place canola oil in small pot and heat to 325-350 degrees. Fry 4-5 wontons at a time until golden brown, about 5-8 minutes. Place on paper towels and then fry another batch. Sprinkle cinnamon on the wontons, and then serve with sweet and sour sauce.
