Sunday, July 26, 2009

wontons

Not only have I been into baking cakes this summer, I've just been enjoying cooking in general. I get really excited, and sometimes carried away (our fridge is bursting with fresh produce and other items), in my culinary adventures. My favorite part is making things up or using recipes as mere suggestions. Recently I made some mushroom-filled wontons that turned out especially well.

Note: everything that went into the wonton wrappers was chopped finely. Sautee 1 or 2 shallots in sesame oil, then add 2-3 carrots. Cook until softish. Add 1 package of mushrooms, a one-inch piece of fresh ginger, and about 1/3 of a bunch of cilantro. Add soy sauce, garlic powder, and cumin to taste. Cook without lid, so that the moisture leaves, until the mushrooms are soft. Put1 or 1.5 teaspoons of filling each wrapper, fold in half and seal with water. Fold in corners.

Heat vegetable oil in skillet until a test wonton wrapper browns fairly quickly (med-high heat).

Fry wontons, drain on paper bag. We ate ours with boiled brown rice and edamame. The dipping sauce had sesame oil, rice vinegar, fresh garlic, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and probably something else in it. Maybe lime juice? Sorry, I didn't write that part down.


I just recently learned how to make pad-thai and mango sticky rice. I also made a sourdough starter, for the first time, and have made a few loaves. While absolutely delicious, the loaves weren't sour at all. I'll have to work on that. Hope everyone is well! Jenn