An authentic spicy wonton in chili oil recipe that yields tender wontons smothered in the most scrumptious sauce that is spicy, savory and sweet, just like the street food you’d get in Sichuan.
Spicy wonton in chili oil, also known as Hong You Chao Shou (红油抄手) in Chinese, is a traditional dim sum from Sichuan. It features small wontons with a simple pork filling, served with a rich and thick sauce that uses chili oil as the main ingredient.
If you’re looking for red oil wontons like you’d eat in a small hole-in-the-wall diner in Sichuan, you’ve come to the right place. After my gourmet trip to Chengdu, Sichuan, I was hooked on this dish and determined to recreate it at home.
This recipe is different from many spicy wonton recipes out there. There are no shortcuts used. And it guarantees maximum satisfaction with that real-deal Sichuan flavor.
Ingredients for wonton in chili oil
A good chili oil
It is the number one ingredient in Sichuan cooking and probably the most commonly used homemade ingredient. I always recommend the homemade one because it’s the most fresh, and you can find my recipe here. It requires a mere 10 minutes to make and will last practically forever in your fridge. Once you make this ingredient, you can start to cook Dan Dan Noodles and Bang Bang Chicken like a pro.
If you prefer to purchase your chili oil rather than make it, I highly recommend the Chili Crisp Oil from The Mala Market. It tastes fresh, contains no additives or preservatives, has a good ratio of oil and chili crisp, and a balanced flavor without being too spicy.
Seasoned sweet soy sauce
Seasoned sweet soy sauce is another ingredient that makes the wonton in chili oil taste authentic.
In this recipe, I use my homemade soy sauce. It is a thick, rich sauce reduced from soy sauce, sugar, aromatics, and tons of spices. It is much more fragrant than the type you purchase from a store.
If you prefer to use a bottled sauce, Lee Kum Kee Sweet Soy Sauce is a good choice. It is not as aromatic as the homemade version but it’s a good replacement.
Another option is to use regular soy sauce plus sugar. But note, in this case, the sauce will come out thinner and have a slightly different flavor.
NOTE: the Chinese style sweet soy sauce is different from Kecap Manis (the type of sweet soy sauce usually used in Southeast Asian cooking), which is much sweeter. If you use Kecap Manis for this recipe, reduce the amount by half.
The type of wonton wrapper to use
I used Shanghai Wonton Skin wrappers in my recipe, but you can use any wonton wrappers that use wheat flour and water as the main ingredients.
How to make spicy wonton in chili oil
Make the wonton filling
- Make aromatic water
- Drain the aromatic water into the ground pork
- Add the other seasonings
- Mix well until it forms a sticky paste
NOTE:
Instead of chopping aromatics to be included in the filling, using aromatics-infused water will create a silky texture with no risk of accidentally biting into a piece of ginger or garlic. It is simple to make and makes your wontons taste much better.
Fold the wontons
- Add a small amount of filling onto the wrapper
- Roll up the wrapper to fold in the filling
- Wet the wrapper with some water
- Fold up the two sides of the wrapper and press to seal the filling
If you’re not familiar with making wontons, make sure to check out my video below the recipe to see the folding in action!
Cook and assemble
Once you finish wrapping the wontons, all you need to do is to boil them. Then add the wonton sauce to the wontons and mix them together.
How to store and reheat
Uncooked wontons freeze well and you don’t need to thaw them before boiling. This recipe makes quite a few servings. So I highly recommend freezing the portions that you won’t consume immediately, so you can enjoy them later.
To cook frozen wontons, simply follow the same steps. The frozen wontons require a bit longer to cook through, but not by too much.
More Sichuan recipes
- Dan Dan Noodles
- Sichuan Dry Fried Green Beans
- Twice Cooked Pork
- Yu Xiang Eggplant
- Kung Pao Shrimp
- Mapo Tofu
Sichuan Spicy Wonton in Chili Oil (红油抄手)
Ingredients
- 1 pack wonton wrappers , thawed if using frozen
Aromatic water
- 2 tablespoons boiling water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 green onions , sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
Filling
- 1/2 lb (225 g) ground pork
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
Sauce
- 8 tablespoons homemade chili oil (including the chili crisp)
- 4 tablespoons seasoned sweet soy sauce (*Footnote 1)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar
- 2 teaspoons grated garlic
- 2 green onions , sliced
- Optional Chopped cilantro, toasted ground Sichuan peppercorn flakes, and toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
Prepare the aromatic water
- Combine all the ingredients for the aromatic water in a small bowl. Stir to mix well and let infuse for 15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Strain and discard all the solid ingredients.
Prepare the chili oil sauce
- Combine the chili oil, sweet soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and white part of the green onion in a medium-sized bowl. Stir to mix well.
Make the wontons
- Add the minced pork into a medium-sized bowl. Add the aromatic water, egg, cornstarch, and white pepper powder. Mix until it forms a smooth and sticky paste.
- Work on the wontons one at a time. Place about half a teaspoon of filling (or 1 teaspoon for bigger wontons) on the lower third of the wrapper. Fold the bottom side over the filling, then roll the filling all the way across to the other side of the wrapper. Brush a thin layer of egg white on one end of the wonton wrapper. Bind both ends and press them together to lock the filling inside the wrapper. Place on a big plate, a finger’s width apart.
- When you’ve finished 10 to 15 wontons, cover them with a wet paper towel to prevent them from drying out.
Cook and assemble
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the wontons, 20 at a time. Stir gently with a spatula constantly, to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. Cook until the wontons are floating on top, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer 7 to 8 wontons into each bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of the sauce, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the hot broth used to boil the wontons, garnish with the green part of the green onion, and serve.
- Mix the wontons well to coat them with sauce. Enjoy!
Store
- If you are not going to cook and serve the wontons immediately, you can store them in the fridge for a day, or freeze them for up to a month. Seal the tray of wontons with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. When the wontons are completely frozen, you can transfer them to an airtight ziplock bag to free up freezer space.
To cook frozen wontons
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add wontons. Stir gently to prevent it from sticking. Cook until the water reaches a boil again. Turn to medium-low heat. Cover the pot with a small gap on one side, to prevent it from boiling over. Continue boiling for 2 minutes (3 minutes for larger wontons). Stand beside the pot the entire time and monitor the broth. If the broth starts to boil over, uncover and stir, then replace the cover. Uncover, continue cooking for another minute, or until the wontons are cooked through.
Notes
- If you do not have sweet soy sauce, use 4 tablespoons of soy sauce plus 2 teaspoons sugar. You can use Lee Kum Kee Sweet Soy Sauce to replace the homemade version. If you use Kecap Manis, reduce the amount by half.
I made my own pork & shrimp wonton and chili oil recipe, but followed your sauce recipe along with your sweet soy recipe (it really makes a huge difference). This sauce beats Din Tai Fung’s by far. Made the sauce last night and again tonight and everyone raved about it. Thank you for my new favorite go-to spicy wonton sauce. It’s absolutely delicious.
This is truly the best wonton recipe I have ever made. It will surely be a hit at my superbowl party. Thanks!!!
How do you prepare the aromatic water?
Hi Christina, the recipe format got messed up due to a system update. The instructions are included in the recipe. I have updated the format of the recipe so now it’s easier to read. Hope you will give the recipe a try and let me know how it goes. Happy cooking!
Thank you Maggie!
I’ve made the sauce and dumplings and they were delish!! Definitely as good if not better than Din Tai Fung and without the wait. Even used the sauce just over noddles. I can think of a half dozen other things I can sprinkle this sauce over. Thanks again for sharing.
What can I substitute for the egg in this recipe? I an highly allergic, can I just leave it out? Thanks!
Hi Ashely, you can totally skip the egg and the recipe will work just well! Happy cooking and can’t wait to hear your feedback 🙂
This is by far one of my favorite recipes. I made this before without the vinegar in the sauce (I ran out), but after adding the vinegar this time it turned an already wonderful sauce into something extraordinary. The combination of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy is perfect.
These look amazing and I’m planning on making these tomorrow. Just curious, is there a reason to omit MSG? Where in the recipe would one substitute it back in? Thanks!
Hi Paul, I have a lot of readers who don’t feel comfortable using MSG, so I try my best to develop recipes that taste good without it. To add MSG to this recipe, you can omit the salt in the aromatic water and directly add it to the filling. You can add a pinch to the sauce too.
Happy cooking and hope you enjoy the dish!
If you haven’t made these yet, you need to.. legit the best
Lots of half-ass recipes out there, showing up as «Top hits» in Google-but this is a true find!
Ten out of ten, would recommend!
It took me a while to make all the different components but it was definitely worth it. The results were AMAZING (even though I was missing some ingredients) and everyone in my family loved it! Thank you for this recipe!
Can I do half pork and half shrimp with this? Or would I have to add anything extra if I do shrimp?
Yes you can use half shrimp and half pork and the result will be amazing 🙂
Your recipe looks like what I have been craving! I do love the soft noodle edges around the filling but not sure what style gives the best texture. Do you have a video showing how the 4 different shape dumpling look when they are finished cooking?
I’m afraid I don’t have the finished look for a video but I personally think the folding method in this post have the best texture 🙂
These wontons and the chili oil are insane. I pretty much make them every other weekend because they are so hood and easy to freeze for quick lunches.
How much is a serving?
It depends on the wonton wrappers you use. For the bigger wonton, 1 serving can be 5 to 10 wontons, depending on if you plan to serve it as an appetizer or a main dish.
I love this recipe and now my friends love me for it. I have made it multiple times, even made 300 wontons for everyone on my birthday. It took me forever. First time I made this recipe it took me five hours. After that, it takes me 2 hours each time. I do make the chili oil and flavoured sweet soy sauce each time though.
I’ve made this recipe many times over and added shrimp. It’s my absolute favorite! However, I did up the aromatics in the fragrant water and lightly salted the shrimp to make sure the flavor of the filling was still prominent. Thank you for this recipe!!
Everyone I’ve made this for loves it. I end up making a really large batch (chicken instead of pork) and freezing them. I used to boil them but I like pan frying or steaming better now. One addition I have to the sauce: I add a very small amount of pure sesame oil. I also don’t mix the sauce with water, people seem to love it without diluting it at all.
I forgot to add: I add minced Thai chilies and lemongrass paste to the filling as well and would highly recommend it.
Another incredible authentic recipe from Maggie!! This is SUCH a solid recipe, and truly real deal! When Maggie says “Real Deal” you know you and your guests are in for the best authentic Chinese food experience this side of Chengdu!
Maggie you’re wonderful, generous and so talented, thanks for sharing so much knowledge with us, I have lost count of how many Maggie Zhu classics I make on the reg! This is in regular rotation and always gets rave reviews. A perfect, uncomplicated recipe I cherish and make quite often.
All my best, thanks Maggie!
Kevin
We loved this recipe! I made both sauces and they really made the flavor profile unique. I will definitely make the wontons again and look forward to using the sauce for more dishes.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the dish! It takes some effort but I do think the result is rewarding 🙂 The sauce is good with dumplings as well. I would tune down the sweetness if using it on noodles.
My son and I loved this sauce. There is a local Chinese restaurant that has a sauce to die for and this is extremely close. My son ended up just drinking the sauce after all the wontons were gone. For us, it was absolutely key to add the wonton cooking water otherwise it was too salty. Didn’t make the chili oil but used Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow chili oil. I have to admit though I used a different wonton filling because I knew some of my guests would not use the sauce and I wanted a stronger flavored filling. Also used Impossible Meat instead of pork.