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Warm Cilantro Chicken Wontons with Spicy Chili Oil! These little dumplings are perfect to use for wonton soup, as an appetizer, or a meal!
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Chicken cilantro wontons are the most delicious little nuggets of flavorful ground chicken with garlic, tons of fresh herbs, ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Toss the filing together and then use store-bought wonton wrappers to wrap them up.
The best part is that you can boil the wontons immediately or freeze them on a sheet pan in a single layer and have them tucked away in the freezer for when you want a bowl of super coziness. Simply cook them up for a bowl of cozy wonton soup and soup away!
I won’t even get started on how great these are for an appetizer! So good that on more than one occasion, I’ve made a meal out of these.
And if you’re like me, in your 30’s looking for something fun to do on a random Friday night, you can totally throw a wonton making party! Start an assembly line. Get someone to make the filling and then sit around the table while you chit chat and wrap wontons. Don’t worry, I’m keeping it extra simple with my wonton wrapping skills. But feel free to get fancy if this isn’t your first rodeo.
And within 30 minutes you’ll have perfectly made chicken wontons ready to cook and serve! The best reward if you ask me!
These are sure to get a 5 star rating from friends and family!
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Ingredients for Chicken Wontons and homemade chili oil:
- Ground Chicken: I like to use lean ground chicken breasts because that’s what we typically like! You can also use ground chicken thighs which will give the wontons a deeper flavor.
- Cornstarch: helps absorb the excess liquid so that the wonton wrappers don’t rip.
- Cilantro: adds herbiness to the chicken wontons. Feel free to swap this for additional green onions or some garlic scapes if you don’t want to use that much cilantro!
- Green Onions: thinly sliced so that you get a little bit in each bite of the chicken wontons.
- Garlic: finely minced garlic is what you need. We’ll use two heaping tablespoons in the chicken mixture and then about 8 cloves for the hot chili oil.
- Ginger: use freshly grated ginger for ginger paste.
- Sesame Oil: I like to use toasted sesame oil for the most delicious smoky flavor.
- Sauces: you’ll need oyster sauce (or oyster mushroom sauce) as well as low sodiumsoy sauce for this recipe. Both of these ingredients provide umami in the chicken wontons.
- Bouillon: a crumbled bouillon cube (or bouillon powder) helps give the dumplings plenty of good chicken flavor.
- Sugar: we’ll use sugar in both the wontons and the spicy chili oil.
- White Pepper: and kosher salt are needed. Use the white pepper in the dumplings and the salt in the chili oil so that it’s well balanced.
- Wonton Wrappers: I prefer to buy wontons wrappers (though there are plenty of recipes online if you’d like to make your own!)
- Oil: use a high heat oil so that we can really get it screaming hot! I use avocado but vegetable or corn oil will also work for this recipe.
- Chili Flakes: I use a combination of Sichuan chili flakes and red pepper flakes. The Sichuan flakes had a delicious numbing tingle that is very unique. If you use all red pepper flakes, the recipe still works, but it just isn’t as delicious im my opinion!
- Sesame Seeds: sesame seeds go into the chili oil that we’re making.
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How to make chicken wontons with chili oil:
- Make chili oil. Add the Sichuan chili flakes, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, sugar, a 1/4 teaspoon salt, and garlic to a bowl that’s heat proof. In a small saucepan, heat the oil until you start to see ripples in it (it should start to shimmer.) Then pour the hot oil over the ingredients and stir to combine. Let the oil hang out while you prep the wontons.
- Make the filling. Start by add the chicken, cornstarch, cilantro, onions, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, bouillon, sugar, and white pepper to a bowl. Once combined, you’re ready to wrap!
- Make chicken wontons. Grab a wonton wrapper and place it in front of you.Place the filling in the middle and fold the wonton skin over the filling. (see pictures below.) Place the prepared wonton on a baking sheet and continue to wrap the remaining wontons the same way. The biggest prep time on this is the folding. So I always suggest putting on a fun show or listening to an audiobook or podcast and just zoning out! I’m convinced this is one of the best kept secrets to making dumplings, roux, samosas, and so much more!
- Cook the wontons. Heat a saucepan of a saute pan with water.once boiling, you’ll carefully want to lower thewontons in batches and let them cook. Theatric to knowing if the wontons are almost done is when they start floating to the top. At that point, you want give them another minute or so and then remove them.
- Serve up your wontons. Combine the spicy chili oil we made with a splash black vinegar (about 1-2 teaspoons) a splash of soy sauce, and some more sugar. Drizzle this all over the wontons of serve the sauce on the side.
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FAQs about this recipe
typically it’s made of some kind of protein, such as pork, shrimp, or chicken, but you can also use shiitake mushrooms, shredded cabbage, or tofu. You’ll also find garlic, ginger, and seasonings amongst other ingredients.
you can cook them using either method. Though typically chicken wontons are boiled and then served in a soup base.
the biggest difference is the kind of wrapper that is used to make dumplings versus wontons. Wonton wrappers are more delicate and wontons typically are smaller.
Other recipes to try:
- Easy Chicken Potstickers
- Thai Shrimp in a Blanket
- Mom’s Crispy Beef Samosas
- Extra Crispy Pakoras
- Spicy California Sushi Nachos
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Chicken Wontons with Chili Oil
Warm Cilantro Chicken Wontons with Spicy Chili Oil! These little dumplings are perfect to use for wonton soup, as an appetizer, or a meal!
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Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pound lean ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 5-6 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce (or oyster mushroom sauce)
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled (or use powder)
- 1 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 60-75 square wonton wrappers
- Optional: prepared spicy chili oil
Spicy Chili Oil:
- ¼ cup avocado oil (or other oil with high smoke point)
- 1 tablespoon sichuan chili flakes
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 cloves garlic, finely minced
Instructions
- CHILI OIL: Combine the Sichuan chili flakes, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, sugar, salt, and garlic in a heat-proof bowl. Heat the avocado oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until the oil starts to shimmer. Immediately pour the hot oil over the prepared ingredients in the bowl and stir to combine. Let cool, cover and store for up to 4 weeks at room temperature!
- COMBINE: In a medium bowl, combine the cornstarch, cilantro, scallions, minced garlic, ginger, sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, bouillon, sugar, and white pepper and mix using a spatula, spoon, or chopsticks.
- MIX: When combined, add the ground chicken and mix again. Do not over mix once you add the ground chicken otherwise the meat mixture becomes tough.
- PREP: Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper (this makes it easier to remove the wontons later.) Grab a small bowl of water, and place the filling near you. Wet a small kitchen towel to keep the wrappers covered while wrapping. And a second wet towel to keep the wontons covered once wrapped.
- FOLDING: On a clean cutting board, place a wonton wrapper in front of you. Fill the wrapper in the center with a heaping teaspoon of chicken filling. Grab the two edges closest to you and fold them over the filling to meet the other edge, sealing the edges around the filling. Then fold the empty portion of the wonton over the filling portion halfway before bringing the corners together and squeezing to seal. There are many other methods you can use, this is one is called the bonnet method, and it’s the one I find the easiest.
- KEEP GOING: Place the wrapped wonton on the prepared baking sheet, cover, and continue wrapping wontons the same way. Place the damp cloth over the prepared wontons as you fold to keep them from drying out and cracking. (See note for freezing instructions.)
- BOIL: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, gently lower batches of wontons into the hot water (about 6-10 at a time depending on the size of your pot) Cook the wontons for roughly 4-5 minutes total. They should float to the top around 3-3.5 minutes and you want to let them cook for another 1-1.5 minutes after that happens. Gently remove the wontons using a slotted spoon to a serving bowl.
- SERVE: Combine the prepared 1 tablespoon of prepared spicy chili oil with a splash of black vinegar (1-2 teaspoons), 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoons sugar to make a sauce. Drizzle this over the prepared wontons and serve!
Notes
- To freeze: remove the damp cloth and place in the freezer for several hours before transferring them, to a zip top bag.
- Substitute for black vinegar? Try rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.