Crispy Goat Cheese Wontons with Chili Dipping Sauce ~ impossibly crunchy little wontons filled with creamy goat cheese ~ this is the appetizer everybody goes wild for!
I’m going to be visiting my Dad and his wife in North Carolina for a few days, so this will be my last post till early next week. As usual I’m going through the fridge to try and clear it out a little before I leave. I bought the won ton wrappers a while ago, and thought I’d give them a try. We started ordering cream cheese wontons with our Chinese take out when our kids were very little. It was one of the few sure fire things we knew they’d eat. Since then the whole family has become addicted to these crispy little dumplings filled with creamy cheese. I don’t think they’re particularly authentic, but they sure are good. I used goat cheese for a little different flavor, and spiked the dipping sauce with chili.
These fry up in about a minute in an inch or two of hot oil. You can add minced crab, shrimp, or lobster for a special occasion, or just add some scallion or chili peppers to the cheese.
the dipping sauce for fried wontons
Once you have the basic Asian condiments in your kitchen you can throw together all kinds of interesting and varied sauces on a whim. I would say the bare minimum to keep around includes soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, some kind of hot chili sauce, hoisin sauce, and a knob of ginger in the freezer so you can grate a little off any time you need it. My method is to use a little of this and a little of that, tasting as I go. I decided to go spicy with this sauce since the wontons are mild. Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce would go great with these, too.
how to fold your cheese wontons
The wonton wrappers have a wonderful pliable texture which makes them simple to work with. Just place a small amount of filling in the center, and run a wet finger around the edges of the wrapper. Then fold it over, corner to corner and press the edges to seal. The moisture binds the seal.
Then just bring up the two ends and overlap them, sealing with a another dab of water.
how to fry cheese wontons
These crispy cheese wontons fry up in about a minute! And there’s no need for a deep fryer, these can be shallow fried in a couple of inches of oil in a regular pan on the stove top.
more Asian inspired recipes to try
- The Best Copy Cat Panda Express Recipes!
- Chinese Scallion Oil Recipe
- Quick Chili Oil Noodles
- Easy Vegetable Chow Mein
- Weeknight Egg Roll Bowls
Crispy Goat Cheese Wontons with Chili Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
For the wontons
- vegetable oil for frying
- wonton wrappers
- goat cheese, or cream cheese
for the Chili Sauce
- 2 parts soy sauce, I always buy Tamari soy sauce
- 1 part rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 part sesame oil
- 1/2 part hot chili sauce
- 1/2 part honey
- sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- First make the sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients together with a whisk. Refrigerate until needed.
- Heat two inches of oil in a 2 qt saucepan to about 350 degrees.
- Put a small dab of goat cheese in the center of each wonton wrapper. Run a wet finger around the edge and fold the wonton in half diagonally. Press with your fingers to seal the dough.
- Bring the two outer corners up and overlap them, sealing with a bit of water. You can also leave the wontons in a triangle shape, if you prefer.
- Drop the wontons in the hot oil and let fry for about a minute to a minute and a half, just until they are golden and crispy. Flip them halfway through. Drain on a paper towel.
- Serve hot with the dipping sauce on the side.
Just made these and are delicious. I am hoping these can be frozen as I made them for Christmas.
Thank You.
I think these should freeze well but I can’t say for sure because I haven’t tried.
Loved this idea. I did half cream cheese and half goat cheese. The sauce felt totally overwhelmed by the sesame oil, for my tastes I’d add just a few drops. I added minced ginger which I felt added a nice flavor. For something different, I drizzled a few with just honey and it was delicious that way, part savory and part sweet. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, and thanks for the ideas, too!
These are beautiful. Now, you just need to STOP tempting me to fry more foods!! I recommend nothing but salad posts for at least a week. 😛 Those mushrooms were so fantastic, I’m wishing I had more tonight. (That is dangerous!)
Enjoy the trip. I haven’t visited my family in NC in several years and now I’m missing them even more!
What a delicious little snack! I bet they’re addictive!
Oh my gosh, never thought of Nutella! Why did you have to mention that??!!
We make these with imitation crab meat mixed into the cream cheese. Your typical crag rangoon. Filled with nutella is another way we love to eat won tons.
goat cheese…mmm! I bet the bite into the center, with a squish of goat cheese, is just divine. Love wontons.
And that chili sauce — yes, I will take extras of the extra. Love my sauces!
I really love that chili sauce, I could slather it on everything.
I’ve made mini nachos using wonton wrappers in mini muffin tins so it’s possible that baking might work. I spray the muffin tin with cooking spray and then put the wonton wrapper inside. Fill with seasoned cooked ground beef and top with cheese and bake for about 8 minutes. The difference is, those are open at the top and these wontons are closed. However .. the wonton wrappers get nice and crispy from baking. I don’t much care for the idea of frying .. not just because of all the oil but more because of the mess. I feel pretty sure that this could be done in the oven. I will try it and report back!
Wow, that would be so much easier, too, especially if the wontons get crisp, which was the main thing I was worried about. I’ll try that. Those little wonton wrappers would fit perfectly in the muffin tin!
What a great idea, and I bet a good way to use up some left over things. Creamy cheese and deep fried, can’t be much better than that. Hope you have a wonderful trip!!! Going to make your chocolate cake tomorrow….
Thanks, and be sure to report back about the cake…hope you like it.
Wow, these wontons sound great! Have a great time in NC–my family lives there too. Eat some barbecue! 🙂
Yes! They usually have barbecue waiting for us when we arrive!!! Where does your family live?