Sweet, savory, garlicky, and not as spicy as they look, Sichuan spicy wontons (aka Hong You Chao Shou, 紅油抄手, in Mandarin) are a delicious combination of sweet soy sauce, raw garlic, roasted red chili, and a touch of vinegar to balance things out.
In the U.S., we’re in the midst of a huge explosion in the popularity of Sichuan food. Sichuan and Hunan-style restaurants are appearing in all of the major cities, and we like it! No matter where we travel in the U.S.–New Jersey, New York, Chicago, Houston, or Seattle–we always seem to find Sichuan cuisine, and these red chili oil wontons are one of the best Sichuan-style appetizers you can find.
Needless to say, we all love Sichuan and Hunan food, and all of the spice that goes with it. These wontons are truly tasty with an astoundingly great flavor. I fell in love with them the first time they made it to our table while eating out. Naturally, I decided that we needed to document a go-to recipe for ourselves, and, of course, for our faithful readers to enjoy as well!
You can follow the classic Sichuan wonton recipe in this post or also use a different wonton like the ones in our popular simple wonton soup.
Homemade roasted chili oil is an important ingredient that makes these spicy wontons special and sets them apart from most restaurant versions. Raw garlic is also an essential ingredient—so skip these for date night! Follow our recipe first and see how you like it the way we make it, and then you can adjust the amount of ingredients in the sauce to your own preferences. Some like their spicy wontons garlicky, sweeter, more vinegary, saltier, or spicier, so have it your way!
Here’s how you make these!
Recipe Instructions
Start by making the chili oil. You can follow our easy homemade chili oil recipe here.
Next, add all of the wonton filling ingredients (ground pork, chopped scallions, sesame oil, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, sugar, oil, water, and white pepper) to a bowl. Whip everything together by hand for 5 minutes or in a food processor for 1 minute. You want the pork to look a little bit like a paste.
To make the wontons, take a wonton wrapper, and add about a teaspoon of filling. Use your finger to coat the edges with water or egg wash (this helps the two sides seal together).
Fold the wonton in half so you have a rectangle shape. Bring together the two outer corners so they overlap slightly, add another drop of water or egg wash, and press to seal.
The two outer corners are overlapped slightly to resemble crossed hands, which is literally what the “chao shou” means in the mandarin name, Hong You Chao Shou (紅油抄手).
For more detailed wonton folding photos, instructions and different ways to wrap wontons, see Sarah’s post on How to fold wontons – a step-by-step guide.
Keep assembling until all the filling is gone, which should make you about 18 wontons. Like all wonton recipes, you can double or triple the batch, eat some, then freeze the rest for another day. Place the wontons on a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
Boil a pot of water for the wontons. While the water is coming to a boil, make the sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together (light soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, chili oil, salt to taste, sesame paste, sugar, and garlic) in a small mixing bowl.
If you like it spicy, add more of the chili peppers and not just the oil from your homemade chili oil. This recipe makes enough for 18 or 20 wontons.
Give the boiling water a good stir and drop the wontons in, being careful not to crowd them. Continue stirring so they do not stick. Adjust the heat to achieve a low boil, and cook the wontons for about 2 minutes or until the wrappers begin to look translucent. I like mine a little bit al dente, so I take them out right at 2 minutes when they float to the top.
Use a slotted spoon to drain the water and transfer the wontons to a serving bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup of the boiling water into your sauce, then pour the sauce over the wontons. You can see why this Sichuan spicy wontons dish is sometimes called red oil wontons!
Garnish with scallion if using and serve!
If you like it spicy, you cannot pass up this Sichuan red chili oil wonton!
Sichuan Spicy Wontons
Ingredients
To make the wontons:
- 6 oz. ground pork (170g)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped scallions
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or canola oil)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 pinch fresh ground white pepper
- 18 wonton wrappers
For the sauce:
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar (preferred, or rice wine vinegar)
- 6 tablespoons homemade chili oil (plus 2 teaspoons of the toasted chili from the oil)
- Salt (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon sesame paste (or tahini)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
To garnish (optional):
- Chopped scallion
Instructions
- Next, add all of the wonton filling ingredients to a bowl (everything from the pork to the white pepper) and whip everything together by hand for 5 minutes or in a food processor for 1 minute. You want the pork to look a little bit like a paste.
- To make the wontons, take a wrapper, and add about a teaspoon of filling. Use your finger to coat the edges with water or egg wash (this helps the two sides seal together).
- Fold the wonton in half so you have a rectangle shape. Bring together the two outer corners so they overlap slightly, add another drop of water or egg wash, and press to seal.
- Keep assembling until all the filling is gone, which should make you about 18 wontons. Like all wonton recipes, you can double or triple the batch, eat some, then freeze the rest for another day. Place the wontons on a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Boil a pot of water for the wontons. While the water is coming to a boil, make the sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. If you like spicy, add more of the chili peppers and not just the oil from your homemade chili oil. This recipe makes enough for 18 or 20 wontons.
- Give the boiling water a good stir and drop the wontons in, being careful not to crowd them. Continue stirring so they do not stick. Adjust the heat to achieve a low boil, and cook the wontons for about 2 minutes or until the wrappers begin to look translucent. I like mine a little bit al dente, so I take them out right at 2 minutes when they float to the top.
- Use a slotted spoon to drain the water and transfer the wontons to a serving bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup of the boiling water into your sauce, then pour the sauce over the wontons. Garnish with scallion if using and serve!
Can you steam these wontons rather than boiling them? Would it give the same taste? Just curious as I haven’t used my steamer in a while!
Hi JD, I think you can steam them but best to go with the recipe directions ;-)
I am in Montevideo and would like to order a won ton soup. Thanks
Hi Angela, I think you should follow our recipe and make them yourself ;-)
I made these vegan with by substituting Beyond Beef for the pork and they were fantastic! One thing I found is that Beyond Beef is wetter than ground pork, so the mixture was much looser than other wonton fillings I’ve made before, so I ended up adding about 3 tsp cornstarch (for a triple batch) to give it more body. Next time I’ll probably just use half the water. Also, the food processor was the key for me, because it didn’t get very sticky at all after stirring with chopsticks for 5 minutes, but a couple minutes in the food processor took care of it. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Rachel, great idea using beyond beef to make these chili wontons vegan. Thank you so much for sharing your prep details!
This has become a go-to dish in my house, and we make a double batch of the sauce to use on other foods. Yummy!
Sounds good to me KC!
Probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten
I’m making it again tomorrow with the batch that I froze
Hi Samar, wow, now that’s is a great comment, but I have to agree that these Sichuan spicy wontons are delicious!
This dish is AMAZING!! The sauce alone is incredible, and then with the dumplings, it’s just FANTASTIC!! Thank you!!
Hi Kunjan, you’re welcome and happy to hear you enjoyed one of my favorite dishes! Thinking about making some myself now too :)
How many in a serving or how many total does the recipe make?
Thanks
Hi Leigh, the recipe makes 18 wontons and 6 servings if you allow 3 per person as an appetizer.
Thank you for your recipe.
Is it name sesame paste for the sauce zhi majiang? If not can you let me know?
Yes, it is Chloe!
Hi chloe, yes!
A stranger I met in a line for Chinese food in Vancouver, Canada introduced me to your website and I have been enthusiastically making many of your recipes…I live in Richmond, just outside Vancouver and grew up in Trinidad with many Chinese friends and lots of beloved Chinese food, condiments and preserves!. (salt prunes and preserved plums, red mango etc were part of my Caribbean childhood)….I am now know that I sensitive to gluten…it’s tough but I have done some good experimenting…and so I am wondering if you have come up with anything that can help me make things like wontons or home made noodles without the wheat based products? Whether or not…thank you for your excellent website that lets me in on so many secrets and tasty delicious things…I learned to fold wontons from my Chinese friends years ago, have made your chili oil, crispy skin pork, thai red curry, General T’s cauliflower and much more from your recipes…so whether or not you have no wheat free solutions thanks a ton!
So glad to have you join our blog community, Joy, happy wokking!
Hi Joy, using rice noodles is the easiest shortcut for a gluten-free diet, but for wontons, egg rolls and dumpling wrappers, it’s tougher. I have not seen any gluten free ones, but my suggestion would be to use gluten free flour when making recipes requiring any wheat based flour. My only disclaimer is that we have not tested any recipes using gluten free flour. We’ll definitely add it to our long list of requests :)
I just made these last night for the first time and they were unbelievable. The homemade chili oil absolutely made it them. This recipe took all the intimidation factor out of making dumplings for me. Can’t wait to make them again!
woohoo Gabrielle, sounds like a great success!