Crab Wontons, Dumplings, and Sweet and Sour Chicken

This week's entry is brought to you by the letter C...as in Chinese food!  Anyone who knows me knows that I love Chinese food.  What I don't love is how much takeout costs.  So, I figured I'd experiment with some home recipes.  Tonight's menu included dumplings, crab wontons, fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, moo goo gai pan, and egg drop soup.

What didn't I like about tonight's dinner?  I started cooking around 3pm and didn't finish until around 6:30pm.  What did I like?  Everything tasted wonderful and there are a ton of wontons and dumplings left over in my fiance's freezer so next time it won't take nearly as long to cook dinner because individually wrapping and sealing each wonton and dumpling wrapper is what took the longest by far.  I did a really good job keeping up with dishes until the end when everything was cooking at the same time.  I ended up with a sink and a half full of dishes.

Because I made so much this week, I've decided to focus on three of my six recipes and take a closer look at the rest of the recipes the next time I make them.

First up...the Crab Wontons!

In a bowl, combine some cream cheese, crab, garlic, ginger, and green onions.  Mix it up really well and put it aside for a second.

Next, find a place with a good amount of room and set up an area to fold the wontons.  I just washed and dried my cutting board and used that.  I made sure there was a foil lined cookie sheet next to me and that there was enough room for the cookie sheet cleared in the freezer.  Just being the two of us, we knew we wouldn't eat all 30-some odd wontons that we would end up with.

When the space is cleared.  Start stuffing and folding.  Lay out wonton wrappers and add a couple of teaspoons of the filling to the center, wet the edges with water using your finger, and seal them however you would like.  I folded them in a triangle and then took the 2 edges of the triangle and sealed those together with a little water.  Place these on the cookie sheet.  You can separate out those you are freezing (if any) and those you are cooking once they're all done.

Once they are all folded, separate out the ones you are freezing from the ones you are cooking.  The ones you are freezing, place in the freezer on a cookie sheet for an hour or until frozen solid.  After they are frozen, transfer to a freezer bag.

Lay the remaining wontons out on a cookie sheet.  Spray the top of them with a little cooking spray and place in a 350 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes.  Be sure to check them after 10 minutes just in case your oven is running hot.

Some of mine didn't seal as well as I thought they were.  But, that's okay.  They were good anyways!

Next up...the dumplings.

Mix together some ground meat (I used turkey), diced mushrooms, shredded cabbage, garlic, green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, rice vinegar, and white pepper.

Same as with the wontons, prepare a cookie sheet with foil and make sure there is room in your freezer.  By the time the dumplings were ready to go in to freeze, the wontons were already frozen.  Lay out your wonton wrappers, place about a tablespoon of filling in the center, wet the edges with water and seal.

As you can see...I experimented with different folding techniques.  I can't say one was better than the other.  Just do whatever is easiest for you!  Once they're all filled and folded, separate out those you're going to freeze from those you are going to cook.  The ones you are freezing can go into the freezer for an hour.  The ones you're cooking can be set aside.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a skillet on medium heat.  Once the oil is heated, cook the dumplings about 3 minutes on each side until crisp on the outside.  Be sure not to crowd the skillet or else the filling may not completely cook!

Finally, the sweet and sour chicken.

Cut up a couple of chicken breasts into about 1 inch pieces.  Place them in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  After they are seasoned, add some cornstarch and mix to coat.  Put some vegetable oil in a skillet and start heating it over medium heat.  While the oil is heating, mix together some sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic powder and set aside.

Once the oil is heated, grab another bowl and beat two eggs.  Working one piece at a time, dip the chicken in the egg and then place in the skillet.  Cook until brown on each side -- but not cooked through, about 2 minutes.  Be careful not to crowd the skillet.

After the chicken is done cooking, transfer to an oven safe 9-in X 11-in pan.  Cover with the sauce and place in an oven at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, or until sauce is thickened.

I had the opportunity to use a bunch of ingredients I usually never use, which was great.  However, we did find out that not everyone is fond of sesame oil which means it has to be omitted from my recipes next time around.  Oh well, it shouldn't make that much of a difference.

Until next time!

Crab Wontons

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 can crab

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon grated ginger

Salt & White Pepper to taste

48 Wonton Wrappers

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, crab, garlic, green onion, ginger, salt, and pepper.

Assemble the wontons on a flat surface.  Place 2 teaspoons of the fillingg in the center of each wrapper.  Using your finger, wet all four sides with water.  Fold sides over, pinching edges to seal.

Place wontons in a single layer onto the baking sheet.  Lightly spray wontons with nonstick spray.  Place into oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.

Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (I use turkey, feel free to use pork or chicken)

1/4 cup mushrooms, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon ginger, grated

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

48 won ton wrappers

Vegetable oil

Directions:

In a bowl, combine meat, mushrooms, garlic, green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, rice vinegar, and white pepper.

Working on a flat surface, assemble the dumplings.  Add about 1 tablespoon filling to the center of each wrapper.  Using your finger, wet all four sides with water.  Fold the wonton and seal.

Heat approximately 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add dumplings in a single layer and cook until crisp and golden about 3 minutes each side.  

To freeze, place uncooked dumplings in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with foil and freeze approximately one hour.  When frozen solid, place into freezer bags.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 9-in X 13-in or 9-in X 11-in baking dish.

In a bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper.  Add cornstarch and gently mix to combine.  Set aside.  Meanwhile, make the sauce.  In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and garlic powder.  Set aside.  In another bowl, beat two eggs.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Working one at a time, dip the chicken into the egg and then place in the oil.  Cook until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side.  

Add chicken to the prepared baking dish.  Top with the sweet and sour sauce.  Place dish in the oven and bake 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to coat chicken or until sauce has thickened.