Wonton – Chinese Dumpling Fun Facts

Wonton, or Chinese dumpling, is a popular staple throughout China. As a Cantonese, I am proud to say that the word Wonton comes from Cantonese rather than Mandarin, as dumplings were likely introduced to the West by early Chinatown settlers, who hailed mainly from the Cantonese-speaking coastal cities of southern China.

In Chinese, wonton means “swallow clouds”. If you are familiar with Chinese art, you may also find that the wonton, floating in the broth, resembles the traditional “spiral cloud” motif in Chinese crafts. A famous example: the torch of the Beijing Olympics is known as the “lucky cloud torch” in Chinese.

Wontons are slightly different in various parts of China. Can I give you an introduction?

Cantonese wonton

Cantonese wonton has a yellow wrapper (made from flour and egg – think of a pasta sheet) typically filled with minced pork and shrimp. The meatballs are generally served in egg noodles, a type of thin and very chewy (almost like a rubber band) noodles prevalent in southern China. Interestingly, the preparation of the broth is an art in itself: all the best wonton stores have their own secret recipes for the soup base; But, in general, shrimp shells are believed to be an important ingredient.

Shanghai Wonton

This type of Chinese dumpling has a thicker, white casing (made from flour only) and the filling includes minced pork and Shanghainese bok choy. In some variations, chopped leeks and chives are added. For soup, the base of the soup is usually made by mixing soy sauce, water, and a little seasoning, mainly to color the unappealing white appearance. (White is a taboo color for Traditional Chinese because it is associated with death.)

While minced pork remains the most popular ingredient, international cuisine has inspired many new varieties: chicken with mushrooms, carrots, beans with corn, canned vegetables with black fungus … exciting!

Sichuan Wonton

Known as “Chao Shou” (crossed hands), they also have a relatively thick white wrapping. Chao Shou is boiled and served with a very, very spicy sauce, as in almost all Sichuan cuisine.

As for why this particular dumpling is called Chao Shou, I think its name originates from how it is wrapped – the wrapper is first folded into a triangular shape and the two sides of the triangle are brought in front, overlapping each other, resembling a person crossing his arms.

The Shanghai wonton is also folded into a triangle, but a slight twist on the second fold gives it a lovely shape. For the Cantonese style, the wonton is simply wrapped by bringing the four corners together and squeezing. Cantonese wontons first appeared as street food, and street vendors found the fastest way to wrap them.

You may have noticed that I never mention fried wontons. Yes, we never fry our wontons. They are boiled, then served on a plate or in a bowl of broth. That is why they are also known as Wonton soup.

What is the difference between Jiaozi (Gyoza) and Wonton?

Oh, they are different. Jiaozi, or Gyoza in Japanese, are basically potstickers – they have a thicker wrapper, with a texture similar to thick ravioli wrappers. They also take a longer, flatter, horn-like shape (“Jiao” sounds like “horn” in Mandarin). Depending on the provinces of China, you can taste jiaozi made with pork, beef, lamb, chicken or fish mixed with a wide variety of vegetables. They can be boiled, steamed, or fried, and served with a dipping sauce. Red vinegar, soy sauce, and chili sauce are among the most popular.

Now that you know so much more about wontons, maybe your next wonton soup tastes even better!