Dress up frozen wontons with this recipe for wontons with peanut sauce! This savory dish makes for an excellent appetizer or meal all on its own, and it’s such a delicious way to enjoy wontons.
I daresay it rivals one of my favorite dishes, chili oil wontons, a recipe from our cookbook (we also have a version here on the blog). This version is still a little spicy, the flavors are more rich and rounded from the peanut and sesame sauce.
Just mix up the sauce, cook up your wontons in boiling water, toss them together, and voila! You have quick and easy wontons with peanut sauce. Topped with scallions and a chili oil drizzle, they are just irresistible.
The first time I made this dish for guests, Judy’s cousin Lily tried a bite and exclaimed, “these are sooo good!” She then proceeded to have another and another…and to this day, whenever we have her over for dinner, she always talks about those peanut sauce wontons that I made! If that story isn’t enough to entice you to try this recipe, I don’t know what else to say!
Fresh or Frozen Wontons?
The best part about this recipe is that you can use any wonton you like, and they can be fresh or frozen.
We suggest that you make a batch of wontons using any of our excellent recipes (simple wonton soup, San Xian wontons, chicken wontons), but you can use any wonton filling you like. Use the fresh ones to make a batch, and then freeze the rest for another day.
You can even use store-bought ones if you don’t feel like making your own. If you happen to have frozen dumplings on hand, you can also substitute those here. We have plenty of dumpling recipes to choose from, like our pork and chive dumpling recipe, chicken dumplings, vegetable dumplings, and go-to “only dumpling recipe you’ll ever need!” You can view all our wonton and dumpling recipes here.
Watch Bill make Wontons in Peanut Sauce!
Recipe Instructions
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil (about 3 quarts) for the wontons. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, sesame paste, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, and white pepper.
Once boiling, stir it to keep the water moving and add the wontons (this prevents the wontons from sticking to the bottom of the pot). Bring the water back up to a simmer. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes (5 to 6 minutes if frozen), or until the wontons float. If the water comes back up to a vigorous boil during this process, add ¼ cup cold water to cool down the pot. (This periodic addition of cold water prevents the wrappers from overcooking before the filling cooks through.)
Once the wontons are floating, cook them for 1 additional minute. Add ¼ cup of the wonton cooking water to your sauce mixture, and stir until smooth. Once the wontons are finished cooking, use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to lift them out of the water and transfer them to a large bowl.
Pour the sauce onto the wontons, and gently toss them in the sauce. Add additional cooking water 1 tablespoon at a time if the sauce is too thick.
Transfer to a serving dish and top with the chopped scallion and peanuts. If you like your wontons a little spicy, drizzle the chili oil over the top.
Enjoy!
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Recipe
Wontons with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 20 wontons fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Chinese sesame paste
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ cup hot water (from cooking the wontons)
- 1 tablespoon chopped scallion
- 1 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts
- 1 teaspoon chili oil (optional topping)
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil (about 3 quarts) for the wontons. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, sesame paste, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, and white pepper.
- Once boiling, stir it to keep the water moving and add the wontons (this prevents the wontons from sticking to the bottom of the pot). Bring the water back up to a simmer. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes (5 to 6 minutes if frozen), or until the wontons float. If the water comes back up to a vigorous boil during this process, add ¼ cup cold water to cool down the pot. (This periodic addition of cold water prevents the wrappers from overcooking before the filling cooks through.)
- Once the wontons are floating, cook them for 1 additional minute. Add ¼ cup of the wonton cooking water to your sauce mixture, and stir until smooth. Once the wontons are finished cooking, use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to lift them out of the water and transfer them to a large bowl.
- Pour the sauce onto the wontons, and gently toss them in the sauce. Add additional cooking water 1 tablespoon at a time if the sauce is too thick.
- Transfer to a serving dish and top with the chopped scallion and peanuts. If you like your wontons a little spicy, drizzle the chili oil over the top.
