When we were kids, my mom, Mary, always had us involved in the kitchen. I don’t really remember a time when I didn’t help my mom or my grandma cook. It is such a good way to teach kids to be independent and creative in the kitchen. Although, I have to stay I still often call my mom for help reminding me how to do things. This is one of the first things Ali and I learned to cook together. I am not exactly sure how it came about, but I mom probably looked in the fridge and thought, “We have nothing to eat except some smoked chicken…oh, and these wonton skins.” So this lovely little creation was born. It is a little tedious to assemble, but that is the fun part of doing it with kids. We always made these pretty plain as kids, but I decided to kick this up a little bit with bell peppers and jalapeños. We eat these as an entrée with some sort of salad or veggie as a side. In this case, we made jicama slaw. It would have been delicious had I not mistaken cayenne for chili powder…oops. See, I still do need my mom! These would also be great as an appetizer or tapas for a party not to mention it would be a great way to use up your extra Beer Can Chicken. Try it out and let us know what you think!!
Kelly & Ali
BBQ Chicken Wontons
1 Pound Chicken, Cooked and Finely Chopped (I use smoked, but roasted, grilled, etc. will work)
½ C. BBQ Sauce
1 Package Wonton Wrappers
½ Yellow Bell Pepper, Finely Chopped
¼ C. Pickled Jalapeños, Finely Chopped
1 Beer
1 C. Water
1 Egg White
Combine the peppers and jalapeños in a bowl. Set up the BBQ sauce, veggies, chicken, wonton skins, and egg wash as an assembly line. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waked paper. Take one wonton skin add a teaspoon of BBQ sauce to the center.
Add about one teaspoon of chicken and veggies.
Brush two sides of the wonton with egg wash and fold over into a triangle, making sure to press out as much air as you can and tightly seal the edges.
Repeat until all the ingredients are gone, laying each wonton out on the baking sheet and adding a new layer of parchment between each layer of wontons so they don’t stick together. Mix water and beer in equal parts and set aside. Heat a non stick skillet over medium high heat and spray with cooking oil. Add wontons to the pan so they are not touching.
Allow to brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side.
Reduce the heat to medium low and add the beer/water mixture so it covers the bottom of the pan and cover for about 3 minutes until the wontons are steamed.
We don’t actually have a lid to fit this pan, so here is my solution:
Remove from the pan to a warm plate and cover with foil (use the parchment to separate again).
Repeat with subsequent batches of wontons wiping out the pan in between if need be. (We used extra cabbage to separate the layers here.)
Tip: if the wontons stick after steaming, add a little more liquid to loosen. Enjoy as soon as the last batch is done! Using remaining BBQ sauce mixed with some teriyaki sauce sprinkled with some chopped green onions to dip.
