Wonton Frito Mexicalense

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-quart pot or wok for deep frying
• •Slotted spoon or wire spider
• •Wire cooling rack set over a sheet pan
• •Small saucepan for poaching the chicken
• •Damp kitchen towel for the wrappers

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the chicken

   Place the chicken thighs in a small saucepan with the half onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and a teaspoon of salt. Cover with cold water by an inch. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, until the chicken is tender and reads 165F at the thickest part. Cold water start, low simmer, no rolling boil. The thigh meat needs to stay tender. Lift the chicken out and let it cool on a plate. Save the broth for soup, do not throw it away.

2. 2

   Shred and season the filling

   Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it finely with two forks or your fingers. You want short, tight strands, not long pieces. Long pieces tear the wrapper. Heat the tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium. Add the diced onion and chile serrano and cook for two minutes until soft but not browned. Add the shredded chicken, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, and green onions. Toss for one minute, just to bring it together. Taste for salt. Spread the filling on a plate to cool completely before you wrap. Hot filling steams the wrapper from the inside and you will fight a wet, tearing mess.

   The filling should be moist but not wet. If liquid pools on the plate as it cools, drain it off. Wet filling is the number one reason wontons split open in the oil.
3. 3

   Set up the wrapping station

   Lay a clean kitchen towel on the counter. Stack the wrappers on a plate and cover them with a slightly damp towel so they do not dry out. Set the small bowl of water within reach. Have a sheet pan dusted with cornstarch or lined with parchment ready to hold the finished wontons.

4. 4

   Wrap the wontons

   Place a wrapper on the counter with one corner pointing toward you, like a diamond. Drop a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Do not overstuff. A wonton that bursts in the oil is wasted work. Dip your finger in the water and run it along the two top edges of the diamond. Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top, pressing the edges to seal. Press out any air pockets as you go. Air pockets explode in the oil. Then dab a little water on one of the side corners and bring the two side corners together below the filling, pressing to seal. The shape will look like a small nurse's cap or a folded gold ingot. Set on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the rest of the filling and wrappers.

5. 5

   Heat the oil

   Pour the frying oil into a heavy 4-quart pot or a wok. The oil should be at least three inches deep. Heat over medium until a wooden chopstick or the corner of a wonton wrapper dipped in immediately bubbles steadily around it, about 350F. Too cold and the wontons soak up grease. Too hot and the wrapper browns before the filling warms through. Steady medium heat is the temperature you are looking for.

6. 6

   Fry in batches

   Lower six to eight wontons into the oil at a time, sealed side down first. Do not crowd the pot. Crowding drops the temperature and the wontons turn out pale and greasy. Fry for two to three minutes, turning once with a slotted spoon or spider, until they are deep golden and crackling on every side. Lift them out and let them drain on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. A paper towel under the rack catches the drips. Repeat with the rest. Skim any floating bits of wrapper out of the oil between batches so they do not burn and turn the oil bitter.

   Eat them within ten minutes of frying. Fried wontons hold their crackle for a short window and then they go limp. This is a dish that does not wait.
7. 7

   Mix the dip and serve

   Stir the ketchup and the Valentina together in a small bowl. That is the dip. No, it is not refined. Yes, it is what they serve at the cafes in La Chinesca and what every Mexicalense kid grew up with. Pile the wontons on a plate, set the dip beside them with lime wedges and a bottle of Maggi if anyone wants to splash it on. Eat immediately. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Chicken thigh, not breast. The breast dries out in the poach and turns to sawdust inside the wonton. Thigh stays moist and shreds into the right tight strands. No me vengas con atajos.
• •Refined lard works beautifully for frying these and gives the wrapper a richer flavor than vegetable oil. The cafes in La Chinesca use vegetable oil because they fry hundreds at a time, but at home, lard is worth it.
• •If you want the beef version, swap the chicken for one pound of skirt steak, simmered the same way and shredded fine. Some Mexicali cafes do shrimp instead. All three are traditional.
• •Do not use round Cantonese dumpling skins or eggroll wrappers. You want the thin square wonton sheet. Twin Marquis and Wing Hing are the brands the Mexicali cooks reach for when they can find them in U.S. markets across the border.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken filling can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before wrapping so the wrappers do not get cold and brittle.
• •Wrapped wontons can be frozen on a sheet pan, then transferred to a freezer bag for up to one month. Fry directly from frozen, adding one extra minute to the cook time. Do not thaw first or the wrappers turn to glue.
• •Fried wontons do not hold. Fry them at the last minute. The crackle is gone within fifteen minutes of leaving the oil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 120g)