Chicken Wontons

Crispy wontons are relatively complicated to construct. The filling is simple, as is the dipping sauce, but the dish as a whole becomes more awkward when folding is concerned. These are perfect for a large celebration, or as a starter for a dinner party. The crispy outer delicately gives way to a soft juicy centre, that sings with aromats and spice.

Begin by mincing a chicken breast - I used a knife, but the filling could all by done in a food processor, if you want to slightly speed up the construction for the sake of more washing up, although chopping by hand will achieve a better texture. To that add a tbsp of sesame oil, and the same of oyster sauce, a dash of fish sauce, a small tsp of ground Szechuan pepper corns, 2 finely chopped spring onions, a chilli and a couple of Kafir lime leaves, a grated clove of garlic and a small thumb of ginger. Once you have the mix together you can begin the wrapping: this is where technique becomes a factor.

1) Place the skin in front of you with a point towards you with a spot of the chicken mixture in the centre.
2) Then lift the bottom corner up to meet the top corner and press down, sticking these two points using a thick cornflour water mix brushed on the edges to hold them in place.
3,4)Next fold the two remaining corners up to meet the top corner. Again make sure the points are stuck so they don't open while frying.
5) Finally fold the two side corners to meet in the middle.

Once you have completed this process for all the wontons you will need to heat up some oil. It is best to do this after you have assembled the wontons as hot oil can of course be a hazard. You need the oil to fry a cube of bread to golden brown in about 15-20 seconds, or when bubbles start to form consistently around a wooden spoon. When the oil is up to temperature fry the wontons for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. Then place on clean paper towel to get rid of any excess oil and stop them being greasy.

Dipping sauce

Gently fry finely chopped chillis, ginger and spring onions in a saucepan. When softened, add a big glug of  3-4 tbsp rice wine vinegar and  3 tbsp of white sugar, and cook this into the chillis. This will all soon boil, removing some of the tang of the vinegar. After a minute or so, add two tables spoons of ketchup, this will thicken everything and give the sauce a sheen.

Serve the wontons either on a platter with the sauce as a starter, or with noodles and a veg stir fry.