Won Ton Skins

[Guest guest]

What's the secret for working with won ton skins? In the latest issue

of Vegetarian Times magazine there was a recipe for " Spinach Ravioli, "

that looked good, so I tried it today. The recipe called for using won

ton skins intead of pasta. I tried to follow all the directions - wet

the edges with water, etc., and even cut down on the amount of filling;

the directions said to put a heaping tablespoon on each skin, but that

was way too much, so I used a teaspoon instead, but I still could not

get them to seal properly. I tried using a fork, as per the directions,

but that just seemed to tear the skins.

 

I put about ten raviolis in the pot to boil, and they all fell apart. I

took the filling out of the dozen more that I had ready to go into the

pot, and salvaged dinner by boiling up some ziti and adding it to the

spinach filling to make a casserole. So I wasted half a package of won

ton skins, but the casserole was good.

 

Later, I found a picture of the dish in the magazine, and it looked like

they made the raviolis by putting filling between two skins and then

pressing them together. The directions said to put the filling in the

bottom corner, and fold the top over to seal.

 

What did I do wrong?

 

Miriam

--

Until we extend the circle of our compassion to all living things, we

will not ourselves find peace.

 

- Albert Schweitzer

[Guest guest]

It's not just you.

Despite the fact that every single recipe involving won ton skins must cut

and paste the same directions into each other, (i.e. they can repeat

themselves all they want) I've never been able to get them to seal, either.

If they come remotely close to sealing, there's too much liquid in the

filling so the bottom is soggy and it blows out when boiling.

 

I've kinda given up on them, although dumplings of any sort are one of my

favorite foods in the world. I'd love to know what the trick is, too!!

Christine

 

 

Miriam Rudnick

Wednesday, January 24, 2001 21:12

Won Ton Skins

 

 

What's the secret for working with won ton skins?

[Guest guest]

My husband, the chef, had some comments on this.

 

First, make sure you're buying the right kind (not rice paper skins for

spring rolls, etc.) and that they are very fresh--check the date on the

package. Brands vary in quality, so try another brand if you weren't happy

with this one. Of course, in California, that's easy to do, and maybe not so

easy in Montana, Oklahoma, et al.

 

Second, just what Noelle said. They cook in under two minutes--don't over

cook.

 

Finally, and most important, technique matters more than the skins, he says.

If you don't succeed your first few times, keep trying. The reason why an

older Chinese woman can sit in the back corner of the restaurant and wrap

several hundred or more in a hour is that she's been doing it all her life.

He says that most people try to treat it as they would pasta dough, and it's

much more delicate than pasta. He says it's something your hands will learn.

 

Having never tried it, I can't add any personal tips, but now I'm intrigued.

It would certainly save time over making fresh pasta dough! Hope

_______________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com