Fried Wontons & Dipping Sauce

Once you break into that package of wontons to make soup, it's always a temptation to make fried wontons for little afternoon snack.  I stuffed these with leftover crab dip from The Fish Guys at Columbus' North Market ... they just melt in your mouth.  Oh, so easy and oh, so good.

WHAT YOU NEED
10-12 wonton wrappers
1/2 - 3/4 cup stuffing (I used crab dip)
~ 4 cups safflower or canola oil
small diameter saucepan, 5-6 inches tall
long insulated tongs
jelly, jam or preserves (whatever you have on hand)
dijon mustard
rice wine or cider vinegar
pinch of salt

MAKING THE WONTONS
[note: if you aren't comfortable working with very hot oil, ask someone to help you.  This oil will be about 350 degrees which can burn badly]

Fill a small diameter high edged saucepan no more than halfway from the top with your oil.  You want enough so that the wontons can float freely as they cook.  Heat over medium high until a drop of water dances on the surface of the oil.  While the oil is heating, stuff your wontons as follows.  This amount of oil can certainly make more wontons than the recipe calls for.

Lay a wonton wrapper flat on the cutting board.  Imagine the wrapper in two triangles divided along the diagonal -- you will fold the filled wonton along that diagonal line.  Moisten the edges of the wrapper using your fingers or a pastry brush.  Put about a teaspoon of the filling in the upper right corner, about 1/2 inch from the edge.  Fold over and press firmly to seal the wrapper.  Bring the long corners together and pinch together to seal.  Set aside on a plate and repeat until you have made as many as you like.

Once the oil is hot, carefully place 3-4 wontons in your pot, using your tongs.   They should immediately bubble up and begin cooking.  Watch carefully to make sure that the oil is hot enough that the wontons are cooking well and not burning.  You may need to adjust the heat.  The trick is not to add so many wontons that you cool the oil, don't crowd them.  While the first batch is cooking, line a plate or baking sheet with paper towels.  Once the wontons rise to the top of the oil and are slightly browned, remove them from the oil one at a time using your tongs and set them on the paper towel.  Continue cooking the wontons 3-4 at a time until the batch is finished.  It is fine to stack them -- just be sure to add a couple of paper towels between each layer.   Set aside to cool and drain.

THE DIPPING SAUCE
Start with 1 tablespoon each of jam, dijon mustard and rice wine vinegar.  Add a few grains of course sea salt (or a tiny bit of fine sea salt).  Adjust the components to suit your tastes.

Serve and enjoy!