Prawn wontons with Sichuan salt and prawn essence

Name: Prawn wontons with Sichuan salt and prawn essence
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 22
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 tsp Sichuan pepper, whole (available at specialist stores and Asian grocers); 4 tsp salt flakes

August 21, 2013

Prawn wontons with Sichuan salt make the most of leftovers.Supplied

Time:30 mins - 1 hourMakes:22

These wontons are simple to put together and full of sophisticated flavours.

Ingredients

Sichuan salt

2 tsp Sichuan pepper, whole (available at specialist stores and Asian grocers)
4 tsp salt flakes

Wontons

1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp light soy
1/2 tsp sesame oil
5cm piece ginger, finely grated
3 spring onions, white only, finely sliced
8 king prawns, peeled and sliced into 1.5cm pieces (about 250g flesh)
1 packet square wonton wrappers

To serve

1/2 tsp chilli powder
4 spring onions, white only, finely sliced
1 1/2 tbsp prawn essence (see recipe)

Method

1. To make the Sichuan salt, warm the salt and Sichuan pepper in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind to a powder.
2. To make the wonton filling, combine the sugar, soy, sesame oil, ginger and spring onion and toss through the prawns.
3. Lay out two to four wrappers at a time. Wet two adjacent edges of each wrapper with water and place two pieces of prawn in the middle of each. Fold the other two edges over to form a triangle, press edges to seal. Repeat until the filling is finished.
4. Cook the wontons (in batches) in simmering water for about 2 1/2 minutes for each batch - the edges will become a little translucent. Drain and serve on a hot serving plate. Sprinkle over some Sichuan salt, chilli powder and spring onions and drizzle with prawn essence.
Tip: Marinate the prawns when you're ready to make the wontons.