Wonton
One of the most popular Chinese dishes all over the world is surely wonton. The food is considered a very important thing for a good living by innumerable people all across the globe owing to its taste and preparation. It surely titillates the taste buds and leaves one wanting for more. The word “wonton” is pronounced in Chinese pinyin as “hún tun” or “hún tún”, and in Cantonese the word is pronounced as “wěn tēn.” This delicious dish is, in fact, regional pasta that has its origins in the country of China. Thus, the dish has its roots in the northern parts of China. Wontons are quite same as dumplings.
The cultural significance of this particular dish is quite interesting. The historical link of this dish makes it a cultural marker of the nation and its immense popularity adds to the cultural heritage of China. The dish’s origin is traced back to the times when the Han Dynasty used to rule over the land, over two millenniums ago. Thus, wontons are surely one of the oldest of Chinese dishes that have stood the test of time for over 2000 years, only to become more popular in the world.
These get cooked in the form of a crescent. Wontons used to get utilized originally in acts of worship and sacrifice. If one delves deep into the pages of cultural history of China, it is known that during the rule of the Song Dynasty, at the time of the Winter Solstice Festival, shops used to remain closed. It was considered to be a time to make offerings. Every family prepared wontons that they would present as offerings for adoring their ancestors. After the ritual was over, the members of the family used to share the wontons among them for consumption.
Wontons got served as the sacrifice on a plate. In the affluent and honored families of the land, the sacrificial wontons that got served on the plate were called “Hundred Flavor Wontons.” The preparation included several dozens of different flavors with fillings. With time, the cultural role of wonton changed among the people of China. After the rule of the Southern Song Dynasty that reigned from 1127 — 1279 A.D., wontons became very popular among the general masses of the society.
The people of ancient China regarded this dish to be a form of steamed bread. During those times, wantons were the same as dumplings. Interestingly, dumplings showed very little changed over thousands of years. However, wontons started the process of evolution with time and became different, specifically in the southern part of China. Wontons were now different from dumplings. The name “wonton” got introduced after this transformation. The name started getting popularized from the time of the Tang Dynasty that ruled from 618 — 907 A.D.
The ritual of having the dish as a sacrificial thing has its origins in the history and culture of China. During the rule of the Han Dynasty that ruled from 202 B.C.to 220 A.D., there was a tribe called Xiongnu that used to pose a lot of hindrance in the borders. The local population went through a lot of sufferings due to the harassment of the tribe. The names of the two fierce leaders of the tribe were Hunshi and Tunshi.
The people of the region despised the two leaders who harassed them. However, there seemed to be no way of countering them or killing them. Thus, the local people started calling the dumplings “Tun” and “Hun”. They started pretending as if they were devouring the human flesh of these two warlords. This ritual was carried out during the time of the Winter Solstice Festival. Even now, people eat wontons on that festival. Thus, the wontons have become a part of the Chinese culture and identity.
It is clear from personal experience that wantons are one of the most famous and popular dishes across the foreign lands also. Although, the cultural significance of the dish might not be known to all, people revel in relishing the delicious dish quite often. It is widely available in the Chinese restaurants and is made at home also. The dish stands out from many other cuisines owing to its cultural significance. It brings with it the lost pages of history, the stories and the emotions of the ancient people. This dish has transcended its role of just being a delicious cuisine for people. It has become an integral part of the Chinese culture and heritage.
It might seem bizarre to a commoner, how this delicious food can, in fact, trace back its roots to thousands of years ago. It is interesting how it has evolved from dumplings over the span of time, to make its name and popularity. Food is, indeed, something that transcends geographical and cultural barriers, and reaches out to the world population. Wonton is the epitome of such dishes that have brought people together, have made a community’s history and skill known to all.
Appendix
Recipe of Chinese Wontons
Filling:
One can take 2 pound lean organic pork. Then, one need to add one free range egg yolk. One would also require 1 pound of peeled, small shrimp along with all this. One tablespoon of Chinese rice wine is needed for making the filling.
Moreover, one would need a tablespoon of sugar, along with 1/3rd tablespoons of pepper for making the filling. Also, 1/3rd tablespoon salt is needed to bring the taste, in unison with 1/3rd tablespoon of garlic powder. Add three tablespoons heap of corn starch, with half tablespoon of sesame oil. Oyster sauce should be added in the quantity of three tablespoons. When preparing the filling the last thing one needs, is half small bag black, dried fungus strips.
Wrapping:
The square wonton wrappers are the essence of the dish that is being prepared. The egg whites are used as “glue” for wrapping. Wontons are one of the most delicious dishes and are not too hard to prepare either. Now, the wontons are ready for consumption by everyone.
Steps for wrapping:
The cook needs to soak the fungus in very lukewarm water for a span of fifteen minutes. Then it needs to be strained and minced into very small pieces. One needs to chop the shrimps into tiny pieces.
One needs to mix the ground pork and the rice wine. The pepper, salt, sesame oil, garlic power and oyster sauce along with the shrimp are mixed next. The corn starch is added. The mixture needs to be kept in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, this mixture can be wrapped. For the purpose of wrapping, the cook can utilize a bit of egg white as “glue”.
The wontons are kept inside the refrigerator on flat trays. After getting them frozen, the wontons must be transferred to a container. One can simply boil water and put these wontons in it. The preparation would be quite a great dish to have with wonton noodles.
Works Cited
Asiancookingmadeeasy. “How to Make Wontons.” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube,
13 October 2008. Web. 11 October 2014.
“How to Cook Wonton.” Chinahighlights. n.p., n.d. Web. 11 October 2014.
“Grandma Van’s Wonton Recipe.” Huafoundation.org. n.p., n.d. Web. 11 October 2014.
“Wonton.” CulturalChina. Kaleidoscope, n.d. Web. 11 October 2014.
