In the US, Chinese wontons are usually served in a broth. A good bowl of wonton soup is the ultimate comfort food, especially for cold and rainy nights. During hot weather, however, a better way to enjoy wontons is to serve them cold without the broth. In fact, cold wontons (冷馄饨), together with cold noodles (冷面) which I introduced before, are among the most popular summer dishes in Shanghai, my hometown. Every household makes them, every noodle shop serves them. Even high-end restaurants add them to their summer specials or risk losing customers. When it’s hot out there, who wouldn’t want a plate of refreshing cold wontons draped in an aromatic sauce? The most important step of preparing cold wontons after boiling them is to drain well and spread them out on a large plate to cool down. I like to use a fan to help with the cooling process. Once they are cool enough, you can further chill them briefly in the refrigerator before serving with a sauce, typically made with sesame or peanut paste, vinegar, and flavored oil—all adding layers of flavor to the wontons. You can make the wontons with any filling you like. One of my […]
In the US, Chinese wontons are usually served in a broth. A good bowl of wonton soup is the ultimate comfort food, especially for cold and rainy nights. During hot weather, however, a better way to enjoy wontons is to serve them cold without the broth. In fact, cold wontons (冷馄饨), together with cold noodles (冷面) which I introduced before, are among the most popular summer dishes in Shanghai, my hometown. Every household makes them, every noodle shop serves them. Even high-end restaurants add them to their summer specials or risk losing customers. When it’s hot out there, who wouldn’t want a plate of refreshing cold wontons draped in an aromatic sauce? The most important step of preparing cold wontons after boiling them is to drain well and spread them out on a large plate to cool down. I like to use a fan to help with the cooling process. Once they are cool enough, you can further chill them briefly in the refrigerator before serving with a sauce, typically made with sesame or peanut paste, vinegar, and flavored oil—all adding layers of flavor to the wontons. You can make the wontons with any filling you like. One of my […]
