Making these tofu wontons reminded me of those college days. But instead of simply cooking the dumplings in boiling water, I made the dish more sophisticated by serving the tofu wontons with a yellow curry broth. We should always aim higher when we get older, right? (By the way, serving these wontons with fried tofu puffs is delicious, too.)
COOKING NOTES FOR TOFU WONTONS
Wontons (雲吞/云吞): Literally translated, “wonton” means swallowing clouds, and it is the Cantonese way of calling these soup dumplings, which float like clouds when they’re done cooking. In Mandarin, this variety of dumplings is called hundun (餛飩/馄炖). Southern-style wontons use thin wrappers for the dumplings, while northern-style hundun use thicker wrappers.Wrappers: I typically buy my wrappers from Asian supermarkets because it is much more convenient than making my own. The brands I use are New Hong Kong Noodle Co. and Wyzen Foods, both of which are based in the Bay Area. If you are shopping in a typical grocery store, you’d probably find Nasoya wrappers.Folding dumplings: For those of you who need visuals, here is the folding technique for the wontons. I also made a video of the folding, which you can watch here.Cooking the dumplings and broth separately: The reason why I cook these separately is because there’s usually a lot of starch sprinkled over the wrappers. If you boil the entire batch of dumplings inside the broth, the starch will release into the broth and can affect the texture of the broth.
HOW TO FREEZE WONTONS
Place the folded dumplings over a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure that the dumplings do not touch or they might get stuck together. After a few hours, transfer the dumplings to a freezer bag. The freezer will keep in your freezer for months. You can also refer to my post here for more directions on how to freeze dumplings. Whatever you do, DO NOT store the uncooked dumplings in the refrigerator. The moisture from the filling will cause the dumplings to turn soggy, and you’ll end up with a right mess. That’s no good.
MAKE-AHEAD DIRECTIONS FOR CURRY BROTH
You can prepare the broth up to 3 days ahead. Refrigerate the broth in jars or large food containers. When you are ready to cook, heat the broth in a pot. In a separate saucepan, boil water and drop the frozen dumplings straight into boiling water. Let the dumplings cook for 6 to 8 minutes. They should float to the top when they are heated through. Do not defrost the dumplings before cooking. Diving the broth and dumplings in bowls to serve.
LOOKING FOR MORE DUMPLING RECIPES?
Red Curry Wonton Soup with Zucchini NoodlesHow to Make PotstickersRed Curry Tofu Dumplings (with braided pleat)Gluten-Free Crystal Skin DumplingsYou can also visit my complete dumpling archives here.
VIDEO: WATCH HOW TO FOLD TOFU WONTONS
