Homemade Wonton Wrappers are thin sheets of dough that can be boiled, steamed, or fried and filled with your favorite ingredients. Of course, they are always perfect for the traditional wonton soup as well. They are easy to make and are similar to making your own homemade egg noodles. You can have these fresh, made from scratch wonton wrappers with just five ingredients!
HOMEMADE WONTON WRAPPERS
Wontons originated in Northern China and Wonton Wrappers were considered sealed buns. The original name was ‘huidun’, meaning chaos. Eventually, the term was changed to wonton as the Chinese writing characters were starting to form. Wonton Wrappers are similar to dumplings, but to be precise, dumplings are usually round while wonton wrappers are square in shape. Wonton wrappers are also much thinner and more delicate than dumplings.
Although I made this batch of wonton wrappers round, you could always keep with the traditional square shape if you wish. I just think the round shape makes it a little easier to wrap up the tasty fillings that are held in each wrapper. Use them for my Cream Cheese Wontons.
HOMEMADE WONTON WRAPPERS RECIPE
As I mentioned, you only need five ingredients to have freshly made homemade wonton wrappers. Once you get the hang of making the wrappers, you can have some fun experimenting with different recipes using the wrappers.
Ingredients (full recipe below)
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Egg
- Water
- Corn starch
HOMEMADE WONTON WRAPPERS DOUGH
To make homemade wonton wrappers, start by mixing the flour and salt on a clean work surface. Create a well and add the egg. Using a whisk, work the egg into the dough. Add a little bit of water at a time and work the dough until it holds together. The flour and the water are how you create gluten, the network of proteins that gives pasta its stretchy texture and bite. The more you knead the dough, the more elasticity it will develop so make sure you don’t cut the kneading process short. I mentioned 5-6 minutes of kneading time, but you could easily knead the dough for up to 15 minutes, so get those arm muscles ready for a workout!
How to Knead Dough
The kneading process is simple. You just press the heel of your hand into the ball of dough and push forward. Rotate the ball and repeat. Keep going until the ball no longer looks powdery. On the flip side, if your dough feels wet or sticky, you will need to add more flour (just a small amount at a time). Once the kneading process is complete, cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE WONTON WRAPPERS
Once your dough has been kneaded and rested, knead it for a couple more minutes before rolling it out. It’s time to get that dough into the round or square wrappers that will hold all those delicious fillings! If you have a pasta roller, pass the dough through the roller and work up to the thinnest setting. You want to be able to see your hand through the dough when held up to a light.
If you don’t have a pasta roller, don’t worry! Simply roll the dough into a long rope (or two) and cut the dough rope into 40-50 small pieces to individually roll out.)
Once you have your dough rolled through the pasta roller, cut the sheets of dough into 4-inch circles or squares. (For a size reference, the circles will be about 4 inches across.) Dust both sides of each wrapper with a generous amount of flour for stacking them so they don’t stick together. Corn starch would be an equal substitution. You can now begin filling them with the filling of your choice.
If you are storing your wrappers, wrap the wrappers in plastic wrap (say that 3 times fast) and freeze them until you are ready to use them (up to 3 months). Be sure to label and date the package and let them thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours before you fill them.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup cold water, for kneading
- 1/2 cup flour, for dusting surface
Instructions
Mix together the flour and salt with clean fingers on your work surface.
Create a well in the center of the flour and add the egg, whisking slowly to incorporate the flour.
Add the water a little at a time and work the dough until it holds together and forms a ball.
Using your hands, knead the dough for 5-6 minutes to develop the gluten.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, knead the dough again for 2 minutes.
If you have a pasta roller, pass the dough through the pasta machine on its thinnest setting. (If you don’t have a pasta machine, roll the dough into a long rope and cut the rope into 40-50 small pieces. Use a dough roller to roll each piece into 4-inch circles.)
After thinning the dough through the pasta roller, cut the dough sheets into 4-inch circles, or about the size of the wide mouth of a mason jar. (You could also cut them into rectangles.)
To keep the wonton wrappers from sticking together, dust them each with flour and stack them in a pile, wrapping the pile in plastic wrap. Freeze until ready to use.
To thaw the wrappers, take them out of the freezer and place them in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
