Why Are My Fried Wontons So Puffy? (2024)

FAQs

Why Are My Fried Wontons So Puffy? ›

Editor: Deep-fried foods tend to get quite hot quickly and puff up, thus the hollowness.

The best way to keep fried foods crispy? Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. If you're frying multiple batches, throw the whole setup into a low oven to keep everything warm as you keep frying and adding to the rack.

I like to use either peanut oil or vegetable oil for deep frying. Both are neutral flavored and have a high smoke point. They can handle the amount of heat needed to make sure that your wonton strips fry up crispy without absorbing too much oil.

Heat a 10-inch/25cm non-stick pan over medium high heat, and add the neutral oil. Add the wontons in one layer to the pan, and fry for a few minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown and slightly crispy. With the pan still over medium-high heat, use a cover as a shield and add ⅓ cup water.

Wontons, especially, need careful storage to retain their texture. Cooked wontons are best eaten as soon as possible, but to store leftover ones, you must remove them from the broth so they don't become waterlogged and mushy.

Editor: Deep-fried foods tend to get quite hot quickly and puff up, thus the hollowness.

First, you want to spray the wontons with some kind of cooking spray. This ensures that the wonton can turn golden brown but that it won't get soggy from too much oil. Wonton wrappers are normally very thin so adding the weight of too much oil can cause them to lose some crispiness.

Bring a wok halfway full with water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the wontons in batches until they float to the surface, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Wrappers – do not lay/spread them out but keep them in the opened package. Take out a few wrappers at a time (so they don't dry out). Cover the opened package with a damp tea towel.

What is the difference between crab wonton and crab rangoon? Crab rangoon is a type of fried wonton, so they are really very similar. The difference is all in the filling. Traditional wontons are not ever filled with cream cheese (which is one of the main components in crab rangoon recipes).

Do you seal wontons with water or egg? ›

The Bonnet

Begin by putting your filling in the middle of the wrapper and then folding the wrapper over into a half-rectangle, making sure to seal the edges with water.

Wrappers: Wonton wrappers are thinner, are usually square, and may contain egg. Dumpling wrappers are thicker, are usually round, and don't require egg. Filling: Dumplings can be filled or unfilled. Wontons always have a well-seasoned filling.

After adding the cold water, we let the pot return to another boil, which took us about 2 minutes. They're generally done once all of the wontons start floating and the filling is cooked through.

Homemade dumplings can fall apart for a number of different reasons, or any combination of them. Often they burst during cooking because they have too much filling for the amount of dough. Some doughs are too dry, so the dumplings won't stay sealed. Others can be too wet and sticky and end up tearing.

The Folding Technique

For this simple fold, all you have to do is fold the filled wrapper in half to form a triangle, then bring the bottom corners together to finish the fold. A little water acts as the “glue” to keep the wontons sealed tight so they don't fall apart as they cook.

Nobody likes a soggy Fried Wonton, and there's a great trick to getting the wrapper ultra crisp. Instead of sealing the wrapper shut like an envelope with water, you leave the majority of the folded wrapper unsealed, using just a dab of water to pinch the ends together.

If you want to get similar results at home, there are only two tricks you really need. First is to add a bit of extra starch to your dumplings. Dust them with cornstarch, shaking off the excess before the initial fry. Second is to use a non-stick skillet, or an extremely well-seasoned cast iron pan.

If you're storing leftover fried food, it's important to preserve it properly to keep it crispy. Store the fried food in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat it in the oven instead of the microwave. The microwave will make the food soggy and crisp.