Experiment 19 - Won Tons

Ingredients list

Shopping was not too bad this week.  For once the "product locator" kiosk at Martin's   was actually helpful, and I found the won ton skins approximately where it said I would.  On the previous experiment, searching for "evaporated milk" came back with no results.  Searching instead for "carnation milk" worked.  Srsly, Martin's?  You make me miss Ukrop's on almost every shopping trip.  Just sayin'....

Anyway, back to the shopping.  The other thing I had trouble finding was ground pork.  It was right there in the meat case, cleverly hidden in plain sight.  Of course I had to buy a package of 1.25 pounds, when I only neeed 40% of that. Reminded me of my problem finding veal a few weeks back.  My kingdom for a butcher shop.  At the end of the day, though, I had everything I needed.

Prep work was pretty simple.  I used my handy Kitchen Aid chopper to make quick work of both the scallions and the water chestnuts.  (I'd almost purchased a can of sliced water chestnuts, but realized that figuring out how many slices make up one nut would have made it difficult to count to 8).  With the chopped items chopped, creating the meat mixture was simple.  Once again, my mis-en-place method was useful.  With everyting laid out (I use those little ramekins for everything!)

Beat the egg, then mix everything else (except the skins of course) together.

My recipe calls for each skin to be cut into quarters.  This resulted in teeny little squares.  The skin recipe (below) says that you should make 3 1/2 inch squares.  The store-bought skins I had were just a tad over 3 inches square.  I really think that extra 1/2 inch would have made a big difference.  But back to the main recipe.  Into each quarter, place 1/2 to 1 TEAspoon of the mixture.  Fold up the corners to meet and seal by pressing gently together.  Wetting your fingertips here can help.  I managed to make 24 tiny little won tons before I decided to use whole skins for the rest.

I have large hands and dealing with 3/4 inch squares of dough was just not working well for me.  Also,  I was only able to get a scant teaspoon full of meat into each of the tiny won tons.  I have to say, dog bless Betty if she actually make 48 of those little suckers for each time she made this recipe.  When I switched to full size skins, I used a tablespoon of meat mixture in each.  In the end, I used 18 skins in total, 6 of them quartered, plus 12 more.

To cook the won tons, boil 4 quarts of water, then add the won tons. Return to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.  Drain in a colander, and run cold water over them to cool.  Once cooked, they can be frozen, or left in the fridge for a few days.

I honestly don't recall how these were served at the work get-togethers mentioned in the selection post.  It was the 80s, what can I say?  I chose to serve warm, with some Trader Joe's gyoza sauce.

The leftovers might be used for some soup later this week.  There is also the matter of leftover ground pork, water chestnuts, scallions, and even wrappers.  Perhaps some kind of "Chinese" meatballs?  Who can say?

Verdict: Very tasty.  I think the tiny ones were too small, and the giant ones were too big.  Obviously, I need to figure out the Goldilocks size.

Lessons Learned - I usually write a shopping list based on the recipe.  Maybe I should take the actual recipe with me - that would avoid potential mis-steps like the whole vs sliced water chestnut issue.
Tools needed - nothing new this week.
Skills needed - nothing new this week.

Won Ton Skin preparation:
Beat the eggs, then blend thoroughly with the flour and salt and knead until smooth.  Cover with a wet paper towel and let stand 15 minutes.  Knead again, then roll on a floured boared until paper thin, making sure board is well-dusted with flour.  Cut into 5 to 6 dozen 3 1/2 inch squares.  If these are notbe be used immediately, the may be stacked together, with each piece being well-floured.  Wrap stack in foil and refrigerate.  This can be kept for about a week.  If squares befome hard or dry, re-moisten by wrapping them in a damp towel.