Tofu and Chive Wontons in Chili Broth

Homemade Tofu and Chive Wontons filled with homegrown garlic chives from my garden! I used frozen tofu that creates this much meatier texture. I boiled my wontons but you can also steam or even deep fry yours. I served my wontons with an aromatic chili broth.

THE TOFU AND CHIVES FILLING

How to prepare the filling:

• Freeze your block of extra firm tofu at least overnight. No need to press.
• Be sure to completely thaw you’re tofu. Afterwards, press the tofu. The tofu will release a lot of water!
• Finely chop the chives. Then crumble the tofu.
• Heat a large pan over medium heat. Once hot, add in the oil. Saute the chives and tofu for 3-4 minutes. Allow any excess liquid from the tofu to evaporate. Season the mixture with vegetarian oyster sauce/stir-fry sauce, five spice powder, and salt. Mix well.
• Add in the corn starch and the mix well. This will help absorb any excess moisture and help bind the mixture together.
• Turn off the heat and transfer the filling to a bowl and leave to cool before using.

WONTON WRAPPERS

If using frozen wonton wrappers, be sure to thaw it at room temperature.

Be sure to completely thaw your wrappers and allow it to come to room temperature so they’ll ne very pliable. This will make it easier to handle and work with the wrappers to make your worntons.

You can watch the video for a complete step-by-step.

• Prepare a small bowl with water. Carefully separate the wrappers. It’s best to work with the wrappers at room temperature so they’re pliable and won’t easily break.
• Place 1 wrapper on a flat surface or on your palm.
• Dip your finger in the bowl of water and trace the edges of the wrapper.
• Add 1/2 – 1 tbsp of the filling (note that the amount of filling will depend on the size of your wrapper and type of fold you’re doing).Press down the filling to pack it tightly.
• Fold the wrapper into half until you have a triangle.
• Carefully press down on the filling to remove any air pockets. Then seal the edges tight.
• Flip over the triangle. Carefully press down the centre of the triangle.
• Dab one bottom corner of the triangles with water.
• Afterwards, bring both ends together.
• Press down both tips to seal well. Repeat this for the rest of the wrappers until you have all your wontons.

WONTON FOLDING TIPS:

Be sure to keep the sides/edges of the wrapper cleaning try not to get any of the filling on it. This way you’ll be able to seal the wontons well. When filling gets on the edges of the wrapper, some of the oil will make it slippery and hard to seal the wrapper together.

So the bottomline: keep the edges as clean as possible! 🙂

While you work on each wonton, you can cover your made wontons with a towel to prevent them from drying out.

CHILI BROTH

The chili broth is totally optional! You can enjoy these wontons with other dipping sauce of your choice. You can also check out the best dumpling dipping sauce recipe here if you wanna try that out!

If making this chili broth, feel free to adjust everything to your taste. I mixed together the following:

• 1/2 cup wonton broth water used to cook wontons or hot water
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce or more to taste
• 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce , adjust according to desired heat (homemade sauce recipe here)
• 1 tsp doubanjiang or more chili sauce
• 1 tsp sugar adjust according to desired taste
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar adjust according to desired taste
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tsp sesame oil

You can also find the full recipe for the chili broth below.

SERVE AND ENJOY!

I love these wontons paired with a bowl of noodles (like an earthy ginger and scallion noodles) but is also great enjoyed as is.