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Wan Tan
Wonton 1.JPG
A Cantonese-style shrimp wonton
Place of origin China
Main ingredient(s) Dough: flour, eggs, water, salt
Filling: ground pork, spices, garlic or green onions
Simplified Chinese 1. 馄炖
2. 云吞
3. 抄手
4. 清汤
Traditional Chinese 1. 餛飩
2. 雲吞
3. 抄手
4. 清湯
5. 扁食
Literal meaning 1. Irregularly shaped dumpling
2. cloud swallow
3. crossed hands
4. clear soup

A wonton (also spelled wantan, wanton, or wuntun in transcription from Cantonese; Mandarin: húntun [xwə̌n.dwə̌n]) is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines.

Preparation and filling[edit]

Wontons are made by spreading a square wrapper (a dough skin made of flour, egg, water, and salt)[1][2] flat in the palm of one's hand, placing a small amount of filling in the center, and sealing the wonton into the desired shape by compressing the wrapper's edges together with the fingers. Adhesion may be improved by moistening the wrapper's inner edges, typically by dipping a fingertip into water and running it across the dry dough to dissolve the extra flour. As part of the sealing process, air is pressed out of the interior to avoid rupturing the wonton from internal pressure when cooked.

Preparing and filling wonton dumplings in Hong-Kong

The most common filling is ground pork with a small amount of flour added as a binder. The mixture is seasoned with salt, spices, and often garlic or finely chopped green onion. Factory-made, frozen varieties are sold in supermarkets. Commonly, they are handmade at the point of sale in markets or small restaurants by the proprietor while awaiting customers. In markets, they are sold by the unit, without being pre-cooked.

Shapes and cooking methods[edit]

A bowl of wonton noodle soup

Wontons are commonly boiled and served in soup or sometimes deep-fried. There are several common regional variations of shape.

The most versatile shape is a simple right triangle, made by folding the square wrapper in half by pulling together two diagonally opposite corners. Its flat profile allows it to be pan-fried like a jiaozi (pot sticker) in addition to being boiled or deep-fried.

A more globular wonton can be formed by folding all four corners together, resulting in a shape reminiscent of a stereotypical hobo's bindle made by tying all four corners of a cloth together. The much larger Korean deep-fried dim sim has a similar shape, but wontons in this configuration are more commonly served in soup.

A related kind of wonton is made by using the same kind of wrapper, but applying only a minute amount of filling (frequently meat) and quickly closing the wrapper-holding hand, sealing the wonton into an unevenly squashed shape. These are called xiao huntun (literally "little wonton") and are invariably served in a soup, often with condiments such as pickles, ginger, sesame oil, and cilantro (coriander leaves).


Pangsit Goreng (fried wonton) with sweet and sour sauce of Indonesian Chinese cuisine

Each region of China has its own variations of wonton, examples include Beijing, Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Guangdong (Cantonese), Fujian, etc.

Cantonese cuisine[edit]


Sichuan cuisine[edit]

In Sichuan, semi-pentagonal wonton are known as chāo shǒu (抄手, lit. "crossed hands" ) since after initially folding the wonton skin into a right triangle, each end of the hypotenuse are pressed against the middle of opposite sides, creating an impression of crossed arms/hands. These are often served in a sesame paste and chili oil sauce as a dish called "red oil wonton" (红油抄手).

Shanghai cuisine[edit]

In Shanghai and its surrounding area (Jiangnan), Wonton filling is most often made with minced meat and bok choy served in chicken soup; however, Shanghai cuisine makes a clear distinction between small wontons and large wontons. The former are casually wrapped by closing the palm on a wrapper with a dab of pork filling as if crumpling a sheet of paper. These are popular accompaniments to breakfast or brunch fare. The "large" wontons are carefully wrapped (often resembling large tortellini) and a single bowl can serve as lunch or a light dinner. They are available with a large variety of fillings; a popular Shanghai fast food chain offers more than 50 varieties. One popular variety in Shanghai which is said to have originated in Suzhou is "three delicacies wonton" (san xian hun tun)which contains pork, shrimp and fish as primary ingredients.

Ningbo cuisine[edit]

Ningbo Wonton has two types, steamed Wonton and Wonton soup. Both are filled with pork and shrimp.[3] Available at many Chinese-American restaurants, these wontons became popular due to their traditional preparation.

Outside China[edit]

Fried wontons of American Chinese cuisine

In American Chinese cuisine (and in Canada as well), wontons are served in two ways: in wonton soup (wontons in a clear broth), and as an appetizer called fried wontons. Fried wontons are served with a meat filling, (usually pork), and eaten with duck sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or Chinese mustard. A version of fried wontons are filled with a cream cheese and crab filling; these are called crab rangoon. Another version of fried wontons are filled with a mixture of cream cheese, green onions, soy sauce and garlic. These are best when eaten with sweet and sour sauce. Compared to the Far East versions, fried wontons are eaten dry.

In the Philippines, fried wontons are often called pinseques fritos (pinsec frito in the Castilian singular).[4] Pritong pinsek is the Cebuan and Tagalog name.

In Canadian Chinese cuisine, wonton soup in eateries not catering to Chinese have pork filled wontons with noodles similar to spaghetti, BBQ pork and vegetables in a clear chicken broth.

In Indonesian Chinese cuisine, it's called Pangsit. Served fried or in soup, usually with Chinese noodles.

In Peruvian-Chinese gastronomic fusion called Chifa, wonton, called Wantán in Peru, can be found fried with meat filling to eat with rice or "Tallarín saltado", and also in wonton soup or Sopa Wantán.

Chinese names[edit]

In Mandarin, the name of the food is written as 馄饨 (pinyin: húntun; roughly meaning "slowly boiled dumpling"). However, the English name derives from the Cantonese wan4tan1.

In Cantonese, 雲吞 or 云吞 (pinyin: yúntūn; Cantonese: [wɐ̏ntʰɐ́n]), is a popular variant written form that literally means "swallowing clouds".


"Wonton Soup" is also the name of a hip-hop song written by Lil B and released in 2010.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Wonton Wrappers About.com. Retrieved: 2012-02-28.
  2. ^ Homemade Wonton Wrappers Kitchen Simplicity. 2009-10-13.
  3. ^ Steamed Wonton and wonton soup
  4. ^ http://www.comidachinademanila.com/