http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016046-pork-and-shrimp-won-tons


Winter does not retreat. Here’s what I want: a table by a fogged-up window, with fat won tons, drizzled with hot pepper oil and stinking of garlic and ginger, bobbing in a huge bowl of steamy broth. Where? Why, at home — where else?

It’s not hard to have won tons or dumplings at home. You buy a bag of 60 frozen ones for a few bucks and boil them at home. I wouldn’t really call it cheating; you could do much worse. They are relatively healthy, convenient, cheap and a better choice than many other frozen options.

But what if you could get all that and have it freshly made (you control the ingredients and the seasonings) and have the taste be about a thousand times better?

You can. Making won tons is so easy, it almost feels like cheating. You buy the won ton skins in a package at the store. They are rolled to the perfect thickness, cut to the perfect size and have the perfect moisture content. Even the most fanatical cook will agree that store-bought won ton skins and phyllo dough are better.

Red pepper oil, in my opinion, should always be on hand.

Recipe: Pork and Shrimp Won Tons

TOTAL TIME

1 hour, plus at least 30 minutes chilling

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound ground pork, not too lean

1/2 pound fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped in 1/4-inch pieces

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon sweet rice wine, such as Shaoxing rice wine (or use sherry)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon spicy Chinese bean paste, also called chili bean sauce (or use chile paste)

2 serrano chiles, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped Chinese garlic chives (or use 3/4 cup chopped scallions, green and white parts)

36 wonton skins, about 3 by 3 inches, available at Asian markets and many grocery stores

1 small egg, beaten

Cornstarch for dusting

8 ounces baby spinach leaves

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

8 cups good chicken broth, hot, salted to taste

Red pepper oil (optional), see note

PREPARATION

Put pork and shrimp in a chilled mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix briefly with chopsticks, wet hands or wooden spoons. Add rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, bean paste, serrano chiles and garlic chives. Mix well to incorporate. Pan-fry a small flat patty in a small amount of oil to check seasoning; taste and adjust. Transfer mixture to a small container, cover and chill at least 30 minutes, or longer if you have time, up to 24 hours.

To prepare wontons, remove a few wonton skins from package and lay them on dry work surface. Put 1 teaspoon filling in the center of each square skin. Paint edges of square lightly with egg. Gently fold one side over the other, pinching edges together. You should a have a folded rectangle. Now pull the lower corners in toward each other and pinch together to make the traditional curved wonton shape. Place wontons 1 inch apart on a baking sheet or platter. Dust lightly with cornstarch and refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to cook.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, put a small handful of spinach leaves and about 2 tablespoons cilantro in each person’s deep wide soup bowl. When water is boiling, drop about 10 wontons into pot and cook for 2 minutes. Remove with wire bamboo spider (or a large fine-meshed sieve with a handle) and divide among bowls. Repeat with remaining wontons. Pour about 11/2 cups hot broth over each serving. Drizzle with red pepper oil if desired.

YIELD: About 30 wontons, 3 to 6 portions, depending on serving size

NOTE: To make red pepper oil, heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a saucepan until quite warm. Turn off heat and add 4 red Chinese chiles, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil. Let cool. Store at cool room temperature.

In China, every profession has its own god. So does the chef. Among the most commonly recognised gods with the culinary profession, Yi Yin (伊尹) is the most famous and legendary one. He lived 3700 years ago at the beginning of Shang Dynasty and his story was recorded in a history book “The Lu’s Annals” ( 吕氏春秋) which was written by Lu Buwei and his followers 2500 years ago.

According to the book, a woman from a tribe called Youxin was picking mulberry leaves and found a baby in a withered tree. She dedicated the baby to the chief of Youxin. The chief asked his chef to raise the baby and ordered him to find out what had happened. The chief was then told that the mother of the baby lived upstream of the River Yi. One day when she was pregnant, she dreamed of the god telling her: “If you see water out of the stone mortar, you must run east and don’t look back.” The next day she saw the water came out of the mortar. She told her neighbours and ran east for 10 kilometres, then she looked back and saw her village was flooded. Her body, as a result, was transformed into a shrivelled mulberry tree. Therefore, the baby was given the name Yi Yin by the chief.

He grew up known as a wise man. The chief of another tribe Tang, who was the founder of the Shang dynasty, heard of it and sent an envoy to Youxin inviting him to his court. But the chief of Youxin rejected. Yi Yin also wanted to join Tang as he had an ambitious plan. So Tang asked to marry the daughter of the Youxin chief. The latter was delighted and let Yi Yin to escort his daughter to Tang’s tribe. According to the history book, Yi Yin assisted Tang winning the war with Xia and establishing the Shang Dynasty. To pay his respect, Tang made him the prime minister.

Then, how was Yi Yin called the culinary god? Well, let’s continue the story.

After Tang had Yi Yin, he held a ceremony and received him formally. Yi Yin started his talk with the technique and process of cooking and seasoning, then described all kinds of delicious foods from different places in China. Tang asked Yi Yin whether they could be made now. Yi Yin said no because his state is too small to have all these foods. Only when Tang became the emperor - the Son of Heaven, he was able to enjoy them. To become the Son of Heaven, he must know Tao (the ultimate principle of the universe).

“The Lu’s Annals” recorded the following talk of Yi Yin about food and cooking, which established his position as a culinary god:

“For the fundamental of the savour water comes first. Five flavours (sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty) and three materials (water, fire and wood) are boiled nine times and transformed nine times. Mastering fire is the key, sometimes with high heat and sometimes with gentle heat to dispel fishy, foul and muttony odours. The smelly food will turn out to be delicious only when the fire can be skillfully handled. For seasoning the five flavours must be used, but the usage of sequence and quantity, and their combination has a tricky effect on savour. The change in the cauldron is subtle and can only be sensed but not explained, like shooting arrows on a running horse, transforming between yin and yang, and the alternation of the four seasons. The highest level of cooking is that the food will be still firm even cooked long time, done but not mushy, sweet but not overly, sour but not too strong, salty but not heavy, piquant but not overpowering, delicate but still full of flavour, and fatty but not greasy.”

It was said also that Yi Yin had written the first cook book in China but unfortunately it was lost. Nevertheless his cooking theory was widely spread and has influenced the Chinese cooking ever since.