This post is sponsored by Knorr Chicken Powder. All thoughts and opinions are our own. Enjoy!
Today, we’re sharing my grandma’s recipe for chicken wontons. I’ve had countless bowls of delicious wonton soup served up to me by both my grandma and my mom. It’s Chinese comfort food––or really comfort food, period.
Growing up, there was always a batch of wontons in the freezer, making wonton soup possible in minutes at all hours of the day. Whether I was sick, having a bad day, or just hungry after school, homemade wonton soup was always there to make things better.
My mom and grandma first taught me how to make wontons when I was barely old enough to see above the kitchen counter. As an adult now, I hope to one day be able to work that mom magic on my own kids, proffering piping hot bowls of wonton soup with the same ease and flair.
I blogged this chicken wonton recipe with both my mom and grandma in my grandma’s apartment in Flushing, Queens. I mention this because you’ll notice in the photos that our cooking environment looks a little different!
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Chicken Wontons – Recipe Notes
While this recipe for chicken wontons is not our first wonton recipe on the blog (see our simple wonton soup, Shanghai-style wontons, and san xian wontons), it IS the first to feature chicken in the filling instead of pork. For our readers who don’t eat pork, this recipe is long overdue!
While pork fillings are more common in Chinese cuisine, these chicken wontons have a deliciously delicate flavor, made even more flavorful by meaty shiitake mushrooms and my grandma’s secret ingredient––Knorr Chicken Powder. When making wonton fillings (chicken or otherwise), she likes to add a few spoonfuls of chicken powder to pack a bigger flavor punch in each wonton.
This recipe also features chopped napa cabbage leaves, which give the wontons a great texture (and a healthy dose of hidden vegetables). A key step before adding the cabbage to the recipe is to salt it for 30 minutes to release some of its moisture. This allows you to better control the moisture levels in the filling.
On to the recipe!
Chicken Wontons – Recipe Instructions
Wash the napa cabbage clean and shake off any excess water. If using a food processor, tear the leaves up and pulse them into small pieces (take care not to mince the napa cabbage). If hand-chopping them, slice the leaves thinly lengthwise and then finely chop them going the other way.
Transfer to a bowl and mix in ¾ teaspoon salt. Set aside for 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients (but no more than 30 minutes). After 30 minutes, squeeze the napa cabbage dry and save the water.
Pre-soak the mushrooms if using dried shiitake mushrooms (then squeeze any water from the mushrooms and reserve the soaking liquid––if using fresh mushrooms, skip this step). Remove the mushroom stems and dice them into ½” cubes.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a wok or pan over medium high heat, and cook the mushrooms for about 5-8 minutes until caramelized. Turn off the heat and leave the mushrooms to cool.
Now hand-chop the chicken by using our method for grinding meat without a grinder.
This allows you to choose whatever cut of chicken you like (breast or thighs) and get a better texture than conventional ground meat. If you choose to do this step, a cleaver really is the best tool for the job.
If you’d like to skip this step, you can just use ground chicken.
Time to make the filling!
Combine the chicken, napa cabbage, cooked mushrooms (with any oil left in the pan), ginger, scallions, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, Knorr Chicken Powder, and 2 tablespoons of liquid from either soaking the mushrooms or salting the cabbage. (If you have neither, just use water.)
Using a rubber spatula or pair of chopsticks, stir the mixture in one direction for 10 minutes, longer if needed…
Until the filling is well combined and sticky, like a paste.
Prepare a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper and get a small bowl of room temperature water. Lastly, bring a small pot of water to a boil, so you can taste test a couple wontons.
How to Fold A Wonton
To assemble the wontons:
- Take your square wonton wrapper, wet your finger, and dab the edges along one side of the square with water.
- Add 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the center
- Gently fold the wrapper in half. Seal on all sides.
- Using your finger, brush another dab of water on one corner (of the filling side), and gently overlap the two corners of the rectangle by pressing them together.
- Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan.
(Check out our step-by-step guide to folding wontons for more details!)
Make a couple wontons, boil, and taste test the two samples. (Mom’s advice: tasting two, and not just one, helps you get a better feel for the flavor and adjust seasoning more accurately). Make adjustments to taste before proceeding to make the whole batch.
How To Cook Wontons
To cook the wontons:
- Boil water in a pot.
- Stir the boiling water gently so the water is moving when you add the wontons (this prevents them from sticking to the bottom of the pot).
- You can add them in either fresh or frozen. NEVER defrost wontons before cooking.
- Cook uncovered for about 5 minutes using medium heat for fresh wontons, 8 minutes for frozen wontons.
- If necessary, add ½ cup cold water if the water is boiling too vigorously. This helps manage the starch levels in the water and prevent the wontons from becoming too starchy.
- The wontons are done once they float to the surface and turn slightly plump.
Since it’s best to serve wontons with stock or broth, heat some up while you’re cooking them. I like to use my mom’s homemade chicken stock or her combination chicken/pork stock, which have to be prepared ahead of time.
But in a pinch for convenience, here’s how to make a bowl of wonton soup without stock:
Add a couple teaspoons of light soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon sesame oil, a pinch of ground white pepper, a pinch of Knorr Chicken Powder, and chopped scallions to a soup bowl. Then ladle in the cooked chicken wontons along with some of the cooking water.
Stir and enjoy!
How to Freeze Wontons
Freezing your wontons ensures that you can make wonton soup anytime you like, for months on end! Here’s how to do it:
- When assembling your wontons, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet a few millimeters apart (they should not be touching).
- Cover the baking sheet (we like to use 2 plastic shopping bags folded over each end of the baking sheet for this purpose).
- Transfer to the freezer, ensuring the baking sheet is in an upright position so that the wontons don’t slide around.
- Freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Once frozen solid, transfer to freezer bags or containers, and place back in the freezer for longer term storage (up to 6 months).
Mom's Chicken Wontons
Ingredients
- 12 ounces napa cabbage (340g)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 10 shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried; 6 oz./170g fresh or 1.5 oz./42g dried)
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs or ground chicken (450g)
- 2 teaspoons ginger (finely minced)
- 1/4 cup scallions (finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons shaoxing wine (or dry sherry cooking wine)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 5 teaspoons Knorr Chicken Powder (20g)
- 2 tablespoons water (preferably from soaking the mushrooms or salting the cabbage)
- 2 packages wonton wrappers (about 75-80 wrappers total)
Instructions
- Wash the napa cabbage clean and shake off any excess water. If using a food processor, tear the leaves up and pulse them into small pieces (take care not to mince the napa cabbage). If hand-chopping them, slice the leaves thinly lengthwise and then finely chop them going the other way. Transfer to a bowl and mix in ¾ teaspoon salt. Set aside for 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients (but no more than 30 minutes). After 30 minutes, squeeze the napa cabbage dry and save the water.
- Pre-soak the mushrooms if using dried shiitake mushrooms (then squeeze any water from the mushrooms and reserve the soaking liquid––if using fresh mushrooms, skip this step). Remove the mushroom stems and dice them into ½” cubes.
- Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a wok or pan over medium high heat, and cook the mushrooms for about 5-8 minutes until caramelized. Turn off the heat and leave the mushrooms to cool.
- Now hand-chop the chicken by using our method for grinding meat without a grinder. This allows you to choose whatever cut of chicken you like (breast or thighs) and get a better texture than conventional ground meat. If you’d like to skip this step, you can also use ground chicken.
- Time to make the filling: combine the chicken, napa cabbage, cooked mushrooms (with any oil left in the pan), ginger, scallions, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, Knorr Chicken Powder, and 2 tablespoons of liquid from either soaking the mushrooms or salting the cabbage (if you have neither, just use water).
- Using a rubber spatula or pair of chopsticks, stir the mixture in one direction for 10 minutes, longer if needed, until the filling is well combined and sticky, like a paste.
- Prepare a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper and get a small bowl of room temperature water. Lastly, bring a small pot of water to a boil, so you can taste test a couple wontons.
- To assemble the wontons, take your square wonton wrapper, wet your finger, and dab one side of the square with water. Add 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the center, and gently fold the wrapper in half. Seal on all sides. Using your finger, brush another dab of water on one corner (of the filling side), and gently overlap the two corners of the rectangle by pressing them together. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Make one more wonton, boil, and taste test the two samples (we find that tasting two, and not just one, helps us get a better feel for the flavor and adjust seasoning more accurately). Make adjustments to taste before proceeding to make the whole batch.
- To cook the wontons, boil water in a pot, and add the wontons (fresh or frozen, but never defrosted wontons). To prevent the wontons from sticking to the bottom of the pot, stir the boiling water gently so the water is moving when you add in the wontons. Cook uncovered for abou 5 minutes using medium heat. If necessary, add ½ cup cold water if the water is boiling too vigorously. This helps manage the starch levels in the water. The wontons are done once they float to the surface and turn slightly plump. (Cooking frozen wontons takes longer, about 8 minutes.)
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
Made these tonight (husband’s birthday weekend and he loves wonton soup) and followed the recipe exactly. They were SPECTACULAR! Thank you so so much!
You’re welcome!!
I made the wontons on Thursday, froze them and made wonton soup on Saturday, it was different from my standard wonton soup, but very unique and delicious. The Napa cabbage I buy can be bitter, so I decreased the amount of cabbage to 4 ounces and the salt to 3/8 tsp. I also scaled back the shiitake mushrooms to 4 oz. I have trouble if I use too many products with MSG, so I used Herb Ox granulated chicken bullion to replace the Knorr chicken powder. I know that’s several changes, but for me it worked out great. I loved the flavor of the filling and it was definitely comfort food. I will be making more of these to freeze for the winter months. Thanks for sharing your family recipes, they always turn out to be delicious and have great depth of flavor.
Hi Heather, thanks for sharing your cooking comments. One thing to remember about napa cabbage is that if it is bitter, it is likely that is is not fresh. A sure sign of that is if small dark spots begin to appear on the cabbage. Read more about napa cabbage on our ingredients page.
Oh lordy!!!! I made a LOT of wonton and froze them all – now I can make soup in a jiffy. What a great cheat. I also added a dollop of Kaitlin’s chili oil, because, well, it’s chili oil!!!
Thanks for sharing x
Yum, love the chili oil addition. I also have tons of dumplings and wontons in my freezer for quick meals. Love it, Ali!
Can’t wait to try these. Do you think you could substitute Better Than Bouillon for the chicken powder?
Yes you could, Rob!
Hello my dear Woks of Life
I just made these lovely chicken wontons today, they are delicious!
Thank you so much for all your recipes! Whenever I try one, it turns out absolutely fabulous! Your step-by-step recipes are foolproof and easy to follow!
Greetings from Switzerland!
Hi Melanie! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try and coming back to leave us a comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed my grandma’s wontons. :)
Made the wontons and homemade chicken stock yesterday. It is a tasty recipe. I couldn’t find the Knorr’s Chicken Powder, but had Wyler’s Chicken Powder, so I had to substitute. I had a hard time with the folding in half, so I used a method I have used before by folding into a triangle. It is much easier to fold them. I could not stop from wanting to eat it, so it was a little hot. I enjoyed it very much. I grew up with a family like yours. My friend’s dad was the head chef at the Marriot Hotel on City Line Avenue in Philadelphia. I used to go to Chinatown with them to buy supplies for the numerous restaurants they owned over the years. I appreciate the insights on authentic foods that your blog provides. I am ordering my maltose from Amazon, so that I can make some Char Siu pork. Great site. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe, and a bit about yourself, David! Glad you enjoyed this recipe, and hope you also like our char siu recipe. It’s one of our family’s all time favorites!
Just wondering what method you would recommend for heating up the frozen wontons. Should I cook them like normal but give them more time? Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Hi Amber, yes, to cook them from frozen, you don’t have to defrost them. Just drop them directly into boiling water and stir them around so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Boil them until they’re floating and cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Hi Thank you for the lovely Recipe. Just wandering, should I want to make this into shrimp wonton, may I Just substitute the Chicken to shrimp? or do I need to make other changes as well?
I would think cooking time should be adjusted since shrimp cooked for the same amount of time as chicken would be over cooked and rubbery.
Hi NJ, for shrimp wontons, try our San Xian Wontons, which do include shrimp. They are absolutely delicious. Here’s the recipe: https://thewoksoflife.com/san-xian-wontons/.
I LOVE YOUR CARING GENEROUS LOVELY HEART REFLECTED IN YOUR RECIPES. I LOVE THEM. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Doris Wells
You’re welcome, Doris! Thank you for that kind comment!
I just love the way you write your recipes. Quite beautiful and sweet. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Sara! Thanks so much for reading!