Hawkers Asian Street Fare to celebrate Chinese New Year in Atlanta

ATLANTA - Chinese New Year will be celebrated this weekend.  It's the year of the rat.  Chef Allen Lo and Chef James Gruber from Hawkers Asian Street Fare in the Old fourth Ward stop by Good Day Atlanta with more on the important holiday and to share some of the menu items from the festivity.  For more on Hawkers Asian Street Fare click here.  

Hawker's Shrimp and Chicken Wonton

Yield: 32 Wonton

INGREDIENTS

Wontons:4 dried Chinese mushrooms (Shiitake) 6 oz.shrimp (21-25ct), peeled and deveined

10oz. ground dark meat chicken

1/2 teaspoonsalt1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon white pepper1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, Kadoya 

To Assemble:1egg, freshly beaten

Wonton wrappers, about 32

INSTRUCTIONS

1.Reconstitute the Chinese mushrooms with hot water for 2 hours. Then drain and squeeze out any excess water. Cut off and discard the stems. Dice the mushrooms into 1/4"x1/4" squares.2.Using a knife, smack the shrimp flat, then roughly chop shrimp into 1/4" chunks3.Add all ingredients, with the exception of the cornstarch and sesame oil together in a mixing bowl4.Mix well, then add corn starch. Mix again, then add sesame oil and mix again.5.Lift the mixture up and slam back into the bowl repeatedle for about 5 minutes. **This is very important, the goal is to remove all air pockets in the mixture and create the appropriate bite to the protein which is the key to a good wonton.6.Place the wonton wrapper on a clean cutting board or work surface. Use a teaspoon to roughly portion ½oz. wt. of mixture onto center of the wrapper. 7.Lightly wipe egg wash around outer edges of wrapper.8.They are tobe wrapped like a purse, making 2 corners meet and folding the other 2 ends in and pinching around the protein to ensure a proper seal. 9.When ready to cook the wontons, bring a pot of water to boil.10.Boil the wontons for 4-5 minutes or until they are floating on their ownor freezefor future use