Wonton
A Chinese dumpling served in soup or fried across many cuisines.
A wonton is a type of Chinese dumpling commonly found across regional styles of Chinese cuisine. Originating in China, wontons have achieved significant popularity in East Asian cuisine as well as across various Southeast Asian culinary traditions. Cantonese wontons are the most popular in the West due to the predominance of Cantonese restaurants overseas.
- origin
- China
- also_known_as
- wantán, wuntun, wenden, huntun
- common_filling
- ground pork or chicken and shrimp
- typical_wrapper
- thin 6×6 cm yellow square dough made of flour, egg, water, and salt
- cooking_methods
- boiled, deep-fried, pan-fried
- regional_varieties
- Cantonese, Sichuan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Jiangzhe, and others
Quick Facts
- Country
- China
- Main Ingredient
- Dough, egg, pork, shrimp, chicken, spring onion
- Variations
- Dumpling
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Wontons have their origins in China. The earliest known mention of wontons is from the 3rd century CE text 'Guangya' by Zhang Yi, not from Yang Xiong. The ancient Han Chinese thought wontons were sealed buns lacking 'qi qiao' (seven orifices), so they were called 'hun dun' (混沌), meaning turbidity or chaos. Over time, the radicals changed from water to food, becoming 'hun tun' (餛飩). At that time, wontons had no difference from dumplings. From the Tang dynasty, the Chinese began to differentiate the names of dumplings (jiaozi) and wontons.
Reader's Guide
Wontons are a significant element of Chinese culinary tradition, with regional variations across Beijing, Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian. In Cantonese cuisine, shrimp-filled wontons with minced pork are commonly served with thin noodles in soup, often with red vinegar. In Sichuan, semi-pentagonal wontons called 'folded arms' are served in sesame paste and chili oil as 'red oil wonton'. Shanghai cuisine distinguishes small wontons (casually wrapped) and large wontons (carefully wrapped like tortellini), with fillings including minced pork and shepherd's purse. Outside China, wontons appear in American Chinese cuisine as wonton soup and fried wontons (including crab rangoon), in the Philippines as pinseques fritos and in pancit Molo, in Singapore as dry wanton mee, in Indonesia as pangsit, in Thailand as kiao, and in Vietnam as hoành thánh. Their versatility in shape and cooking method—boiled, deep-fried, or pan-fried—has contributed to their widespread adoption.
Did You Know?
- The Cantonese name 'wantán' means 'cloud swallow' because the dumplings float in broth like small clouds.
- Wonton dough wrapper is sometimes called wonton skin and becomes transparent after being thoroughly boiled.
- Dumplings (jiaozi) from the 7th and 8th centuries CE were found in Turpan.
- In Sichuan, wontons are called 'folded arms' because the folded shape resembles crossed arms.
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