The thing about buying fresh wontons is that these come in a packet of 50 pieces minimum and have to be consumed within a certain period of time. One day, I had leftovers specifically suitable for deep-frying, as I cooked crispy empanaditas with pork filling few days before. (No, recipe not posted yet.) Found a lonely huge piece of fresh boneless chicken thigh in my freezer as well as few vegetables and decided to put them all together. Such a good decision that brought a fantastic result – perfectly crisp on the outside and succulent chicken meat inside.

Ingredients:
Fresh wonton pastry suitable for deep-frying
A huge piece of boneless chicken thigh
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
A small bowl of shredded cabbage
1 stalk spring onion, chopped coarsely

Rub salt and pepper on chicken thigh and marinate for about 10 minutes.  Then pan-fry (or pan-grill) over medium to high heat approx. 3 minutes each side.  Set aside in a plate and let it rest for about 5 minutes or more before chopping (coarsely) and while you prepare the other ingredients.

When ready, prepare a small bowl of water right next to your ingredients.  Lay wonton wrapper on a flat surface.  Arrange a few pieces of chicken, shredded cabbage and chopped spring onion in the centre of the pastry. Moist all edges with water, then bring the 4 corners up to the center. Press where the edges meet to seal and secure.  I probably made about 20 pieces.

Heat enough oil in a wok for deep-frying.  Fry dumplings in batches for about 2 minutes each side or until crispy.  Dry on paper towels.

To make extra crispy, fry again the second time for about a minute each side.

I serve them with sweet chili sauce. Yum.

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.