Fragrant and crispy Hoi An wontons

Alongside dishes like cao lau, xi ma, and banh dap, wontons are a special culinary cultural product of the people of Hoi An.

In the menus of many restaurants and hotels in Hoi An, wontons always top the list. It's truly regrettable if distant travelers come to Hoi's streets and miss the opportunity to enjoy various types of wonton soup, wonton noodles, and especially fried wontons.

To prepare wontons, chefs select fragrant and elastic wheat flour. They mix wheat flour with chicken eggs and beat this mixture repeatedly until smooth, rolling the dough as thin as possible. Skillfully cutting the dough into small pieces for the crust, gently placing the crust on the palm of the hand to evenly fill the stuffing inside and tightly pinch the edges.

The filling is made from fresh ground shrimp, seasoned, and finely ground. These lovely wontons will be steamed and served with broth (for wonton soup or wonton noodles) or deep-fried (for fried wontons).

When eating, diners can choose from three types of wontons: wonton soup, wonton noodles, and fried wontons, each with its distinctive flavor. First-time foreign guests will be pleasantly surprised by a bowl of sweet and light broth wontons.

People in Hoi An skillfully add a few strands of boiled noodles to the wonton bowl to create wonton noodle dish. Wonton noodles provide an interesting sensation to the palate with a bit of satay sauce (made from a mixture of shrimp, meat, peanuts, fish sauce, salt) and a few pieces of golden-fried fat diced or minced.

Especially fried wontons have become a quite familiar and favorite dish of many tourists. This dish is often chosen by diners as an appetizer along with nem, cha. Each freshly made dumpling is dipped in a pan full of oil and fried until golden and crispy. A layer of lettuce, thinly sliced tomatoes, herbs are arranged on a plate and then the fried wontons are placed on top. Finally, tomato sauce and onions are poured over the dumplings.

The vendor walks briskly, carrying a plate of fried wontons, emitting hot steam. The color of a few rolls of red shrimp, the color of golden fried dumplings, the fresh green Tra Que vegetables, and the shiny amber-colored sauce... All create a plate of fragrant and crispy fried wontons, enhanced with a bit of chili sauce. Eating while savoring, enjoying the mild spiciness of chili, the crispiness of wontons, the sweet taste of shrimp gradually melting on the tongue...

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Source: Travel guide from Mytour – According to Saigontimes.