# Breezy Chicken & Spinach Wonton Dumplings



## BreezyCooking (Feb 22, 2009)

Was steered to the following recipe yesterday (scroll down a little - it's the Feb. 19th Pork/Spinach Wonton recipe):

The Bitten Word

Decided to adapt it a bit & make it my own.  Made it last night to rave reviews.  VERY spicy, which is the way we like most of our Asian dishes.  If you don't like very spicy food, cut down on or substitute regular sesame oil for the hot chili version in the sauce.  Here's my version:

Breezy Chicken & Spinach Wonton Dumplings

One 6-ounce bag baby spinach, rinsed 
3 tablespoons soy sauce 
1 tablespoon sesame oil 
1 tablespoon dry sherry 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon sugar 
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper 
1 pound ground chicken 
1 scallion, minced 
Approx. two tablespoons peeled minced fresh ginger 
Cornstarch, for sprinkling 
30+ wonton wrappers 

For sauce: 
3 tablespoons soy sauce 
2 tablespoons hot chili sesame oil 
1 large garlic clove, minced 
4 tablespoons minced cilantro 

1. In a skillet, cook the spinach, stirring, until wilted; transfer to a colander and press with the back of a spoon until relatively dry. Finely chop the spinach. 
2. In a bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons of the soy sauce, the sesame oil, sherry, salt, sugar and white pepper. Mix in the chicken, scallion, ginger and spinach. Chill for 20 minutes - this makes the filling easier to work with. 
3. Dust a large baking sheet with cornstarch. Arrange 4 wonton wrappers on a work surface, keeping the other wrappers covered with plastic wrap. Brush the edges of the wrappers with water and spoon 1 teaspoon (measuring teaspoon - not dining teaspoon) of filling in the center of each. Fold the wrappers diagonally over the filling to form triangles; seal. Bring the two opposite corners of the triangle together; press to seal. Transfer to the baking sheet. Repeat. 
4. In a large pot of boiling water, add the wontons - 10 at a time - over moderate heat, stirring occasionally & CAREFULLY. When they float, cook for 3 minutes longer. Drain the wontons well. Either line a bowl with paper towels & begin stacking them, or oil a colander & stack them. (I cooked a "test batch" of 4 first to make sure the timing was correct. You don't want to find out after you've cooked 10 or more that the filling isn't cooked.) 
5. In a large bowl, combine all sauce ingredients. Add the wontons, fold lightly, & serve. 

I ended up using a 1/2 pound of filling for 34 wontons (so much for the original recipe saying you can make 30 using 1/4 pound of meat - lol. And I did use a measuring teaspoon for the filling.). I've saved the leftover filling & will either add it loose to a stirfry, or make some more wontons for soup in a couple of days. You definitely won't have any waste with such nicely seasoned meat.


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## Uncle Bob (Feb 22, 2009)

I'm liking this....Thanks for posting Miss Breezy!!


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## kitchenelf (Feb 22, 2009)

Breezy - this sounds delicious!  Do you think you could use the leftovers for lettuce wraps?


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## BreezyCooking (Feb 22, 2009)

Absolutely!!  Just cook that leftover meat up in a skillet or wok, taste for any extra seasoning you might want to add, & wrap away!

I have some nice fresh asparagus in the fridge that I forgot about, & think I'm going to slice that up along with some shitake mushrooms & bok choy, & stirfry my leftover meat with that.


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## thymeless (Feb 22, 2009)

I think you're too strong on the soy sauce. I'd drop it to 1 tablespoon light soy and maybe add 1 tablespoon dark soy. And it would benefit from a little garlic too. I'd probably cook the garlic with the spinach. 

A little rice vinegar in the sauce. 

All IMHO of course.


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## BreezyCooking (Feb 23, 2009)

Hey - amend it all you want to your own taste.  This is simply my version & we, frankly, loved it just the way it is.


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## mike in brooklyn (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks for this unusual and easy to prepare recipe Breezy.

This would also work with a mix of ground pork or shrimp paste
for some of the chicken.


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## BreezyCooking (Feb 23, 2009)

Yes - the original recipe in the link I provided above did use pork, but my husband only eats poultry & seafood, thus my chicken substitution.


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