These will absolutely make you sit up and take notice. These are little packages of love bursting with flavor.

If you’ve never had mapo sauce it’s a Sichuan sauce that is meaty, spicy and, traditionally has tofu. I didn’t have tofu, so I made it without and I had to resist the urge to lick the bowl clean.

It’s easy to adjust the spice in this dish by adding less of the spicy bean sauce, and you can also easily adjust if you want to blow your taste buds into next week. (more info for you on that inside the recipe).

Ingredients

FOR THE PORK WONTONS

1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (you can use any rice wine or dry sherry)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (you can use black if you don't have white)
Fresh wonton wrappers (see notes below if you don't have wonton wrappers)

FOR THE MAPO SAUCE

1 tablespoon canola oil (you can also use vegetable or grapeseed)
1/2 pound ground pork
1 -2 tablespoons spicy bean sauce – use as much, or as little, based on how spicy you like it (I like using Lee Kum Kee Chili Bean Sauce)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
4 cups cooked sticky rice
Garnishes: lime wedges, chopped fresh cilantro, sliced green onions, chili oil

Instructions

In a medium bowl, mix together the pork, ginger, green onions, soy sauce, Shaoxing, sesame oil, cornstarch, salt and pepper.
If using wonton wrappers: Take one wrapper, and place about 1 – 2 teaspoons of the pork mixture in the middle of the wrapper. The amount of filling depends on the size of the wrappers. Fill a small bowl with water, dip your finger and run your wet finger around the outside of the wrapper, then fold in half and use your fingers to press edges to seal the wrapper. Then bring opposite corners together and press to seal. You may need to use a little bit more water to make sure the corners seal. It's important to make sure all the edges are completely sealed to prevent any of the filling from falling out when you cook them.
Don't worry about the shape of your wontons. It's more important to make sure all the edges are sealed.
Have fun with it! Put on some music, have your kids help and enjoy this extra time making dinner.
I like to use a large rimmed sheet pan to assemble the wontons.
When all the filling is used you should have around 36 filled wontons.
If you premake them and will cook them later the same day, cover with saran wrap and store in your fridge.
If you plan on making them later (like next week or in a few days), they freeze beautifully! Lay them in a single layer on a tray or platter and place in your freezer until completely frozen, about 3-6 hours. When frozen store in a container until ready to cook. You can place frozen wontons directly into boiling water, just add an additional 5-6 minutes to the cooking time.
Ok, now back to cooking the wontons.
Bring a large pot of water to boil.
While you wait for the water to boil, start making the mapo sauce.
In a skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium heat.
Add the pork, and break it up with a wooden spoon and you cook it.
When the pork is cooked through, add the spicy bean sauce, and cook until the oils begin to release. It will turn the pork a gorgeous, vibrant red, depending on how much you add. If the color isn't as vibrant you can add more spicy bean sauce, but the more you add the spicier the dish will become.
Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add the chicken stock and soy sauce and bring the sauce to a simmer.
In a small ramekin whisk the cornstarch with the water and add to the sauce. This will help thicken the sauce.
Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute.
Set aside.
By now the water should be boiling, so, using a slotted spoon or spider, gently add the wontons to the pot.
Give them a very gentle stir so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot.
Cook for about 3-5 minutes, depending on size, until completely cooked through.
To check, remove one and cut it open.
Remove the cooked wontons with a slotted spoon and add them to the mapo sauce.
Gently stir to incorporate them in the sauce.
Spoon rice into each bowl, top with saucy wontons and garnish green onions, fresh cilantro, and, if you want even MORE spice, a drizzle of chili oil.

Notes

If you don’t have wonton wrappers, you can cook the pork mixture in a skillet and serve the pork and mapo sauce over rice noodles, fettuccine, rice, farro, or quinoa.

Have you made this recipe?I’d love to know! Leave a comment or recipe rating and tag me @amenuforyou on social media!

Inspired by The Woks of Life

Spicy Pork Wontons in Mapo Sauce