spicy scallion wontons

As far as food cravings go, crunchy is one of my most frequent. Enter wontons. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock or you hate joy, you’ve probably eaten one of these delicious, crispy, probably-inaccurate-to-actual-Chinese-food morsels.

The first version of this recipe was born in my first college apartment. I had absolutely no idea what went into a wonton besides wrappers and cream cheese, so my first version was essentially that with a few squeezes of sriracha and some salt. Now, they’re so good that we almost never have leftovers. They do pack some heat, so cool them down with some orange and sweet chili sauce, adapted from Averie Cooks.

They’re quick, they’re inexpensive, and they can look impressive if you get fancy with the folding. They also fry up quickly and keep well. They’re perfect for sharing—but once you try one, you may not want to.

directions

1. Make the sauce. Combine marmalade, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, garlic, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, scallions, garlic powder, ginger, salt, and sriracha until thoroughly combined.
3. Fill the wonton wrappers with 1 generous teaspoon of filling and fold, transferring each one to a plate. You can fold them however you want–if you’re short on time, you can even just fold them in half. Keep wontons covered with a damp paper towel so the wrappers don’t try out.
4. Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat, and heat until it shimmers. Test one wonton—if the oil starts to bubble around the edges of the wonton, it’s ready.
5. Fry the wontons in batches until they are golden brown on both sides. Don’t crowd the pan. My skillet can hold 8 or 9 at a time. They cook really fast, so don’t walk away! Add more oil if necessary.
6. Put finished wontons on a plate lined with a paper towel.