Sweet Potato Wontons

So I tried to make these Asian Chicken Dumplings last week, and just failed for all sorts of stupid reasons.

Such as. I had to rig a homemade steamer system, because I managed to lose my steamer basket (in addition to books! and clothes! and other random things! frustrated!) in moving from Richmond to Connecticut to North Carolina. And I put the water on to boil before assembling the wontons, so it had almost all boiled away by the time the wontons were ready to cook, and I more or less just glued them to the plate upon which they were steaming.

The problem with making wontons, though, is that wonton wrappers come in packages of, like, a gazillion. So, every time I opened the fridge this week, the wrappers taunted me. Never one to endure taunting when I could just kick the bully in the shins (ask any boy I knew in fifth or sixth grade) or steam the life out of it, in this case, I decided to try again. With sweet potatoes. Because it's STILL the Sweet Potato Challenge of 2010.

Apologies in advance for the darkness of the photos. The Kittchen struggles to be properly lit sometimes.

Sweet Potato Wontons

• 8 wonton wrappers 
• 1/2 cup puréed sweet potato
• 2 Tablespoons cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

 1. Combine sweet potato, cream cheese, and chopped rosemary. If cream cheese is too stiff to mix well, put the whole mixture in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften it up.

2. Fill a small bowl with water. This will help you seal each wonton.

3. Using a regular kitchen spoon, put a dollop of filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Dip your finger in the bowl of water, and trace the perimeter of the wrapper with it. You may need to re-wet your finger a few times to do this properly.

4. Take two opposing corners and press them together, and then do the same with the other two corners, so that you've created a little X with all the edges.

5. Pinch together each diagonal ridge until all the openings are sealed.

6. Depending on how you plan to steam the wontons, prepare your steaming system. I used a large dutch oven with a steamer basket inside, and filled it with about an inch and a half of water, and it took about five minutes to get hot enough.

7. Steam wontons (covered!) for 6-8 minutes, until the wrappers are tender and glossy.

8. Remove to a plate, and serve immediately with a dipping sauce of your choice. I recommend a blend of 2 parts soy sauce to 1 part rice wine vinegar and 1 part sesame oil.



These wontons, while definitely not conventional, were definitely tasty. The sweet, creamy taste of the wonton filling was complemented perfectly by the salty soy dipping sauce, and the texture of the wonton wrappers was just right.

These are another perfect holiday cocktail party hors d'oeuvre, as long as you serve them immediately. Much like the musical stylings of Carrie Underwood, cold wontons just aren't that great.