Baked Mushroom Wontons
When I was a kid, my mom would make wontons and I always loved them. Growing up in a small Northwest town, they always seemed like an exotic food. I loved the exotic taste of the Chinese Five Spice and the freshness of the cabbage, carrot and bean sprouts. One thing that made these so tasty was that she deep fried them until they were golden brown and crispy.
Baked Mushroom Wonton’s and Fresh Rolls
I wanted to have bring those flavors from my childhood wontons to the present day in a healthier way. And so I came up with this recipe for my Chinese themed party for Elfie’s birthday. Like many dishes that are deep fried, baking them in the oven is a less oily — but full flavor —option.
My Baked Mushroom Wontons are delicious and perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or a large crowd. I like to make the filling when I have time on the weekend and then fill and bake the wontons during the week for dinners. Another option is to fill and fold all your wontons and then freeze them; you can then easily bake them off later or even pan-fry them like pot stickers.
- 4 ounces thin rice noodle sticks
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 shallot
- 4 inches of peeled ginger, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch green onions, minced
- 2 carrots, grated
- ½ green cabbage, shredded fine
- 1 ½ cups mixed mushrooms: shiitakes, cremini’s, etc.
- ¼ cup soy sauce (I used mushroom soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 packages wonton wrappers. I use normal wonton wrappers or thin; don’t use thick wrappers because they won’t crisp up in the oven.
- Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and add the rice noodles. Cook the noodles until tender, approximately 5 minutes. Drain noodles into a colander and rinse with cold water. Coarsely chop the noodles into ½ inch pieces, set aside.
- Heat oil in a sauté pan or wok over medium high heat. Add the ginger and shallot and sauté for a minute or so until the shallot is translucent. Add the garlic, toss around and cook another 30 seconds — don’t burn. Add the green onions, carrot, cabbage and mushrooms; toss to mix. Continue to cook for 5 minutes or more until the mushrooms are cooked and the cabbage has wilted. Add the soy sauce and fish sauce in and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add Chinese Five Spice and taste for salt and pepper. Mix in the noodles and stir till fully incorporated, remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. On a cutting board, line out 6 wonton wrappers at a time and spoon a teaspoon amount or so into the center of each square. Have a bowl of water close by, and with your finger, dampen two of the sides of the wonton wrapper. Fold over so you have a triangle and press to close. Set onto prepared baking sheet. Once you have the sheet fully filled up, lightly spray the top with cooking spray and place in the oven. Bake for 7 minutes and then flip each wonton and bake another 6-7 minutes until fully golden and crispy.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauces, such as plum sauce or peanut sauce.
