Elevate your frozen wontons with this delightful recipe featuring a rich peanut sauce! This savory dish serves as an excellent appetizer or can be enjoyed as a meal on its own, making it a delicious way to savor wontons.
This recipe may even rival one of my all-time favorites, chili oil wontons, which is featured in our cookbook (and we have a version available on the blog as well). While this version has a hint of spice, the flavors are beautifully rounded and enriched by the peanut and sesame sauce.
Simply prepare the sauce, cook the wontons in boiling water, combine them, and voilà! You have quick and easy wontons drizzled with peanut sauce. Topped with scallions and a dash of chili oil, they become utterly irresistible.
The first time I served this dish to guests, Judy’s cousin Lily took a bite and exclaimed, “These are sooo good!” She couldn’t resist going back for more, and to this day, whenever she visits for dinner, she reminisces about those peanut sauce wontons I made! If that story doesn’t entice you to try this recipe, I don’t know what will!
Fresh or Frozen Wontons?
The beauty of this recipe lies in its versatility; you can use any type of wonton, whether fresh or frozen.
We recommend making a batch of wontons using any of our fantastic recipes (like simple wonton soup, San Xian wontons, or chicken wontons), but feel free to use any filling you prefer. Prepare some fresh ones and freeze the rest for later.
If you’re short on time, store-bought wontons work perfectly as well. If you have frozen dumplings on hand, they can also be substituted in this recipe. We offer a variety of dumpling recipes, including pork and chive dumplings, chicken dumplings, and vegetable dumplings. You can explore all our wonton and dumpling recipes for more options.
Recipe Instructions
Start by bringing a medium pot of water (approximately 3 quarts) to a boil for the wontons. In the meantime, in a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, sesame paste, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, and white pepper.
Once the water is boiling, stir it to keep it moving and add the wontons (this helps prevent them from sticking to the bottom). Allow the water to return to a simmer. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes (or 5 to 6 minutes if using frozen wontons) until they float. If the water starts boiling vigorously, add ¼ cup of cold water to cool it down. This method prevents the wrappers from overcooking before the filling is done.
Once the wontons are floating, cook them for an additional minute. Add ¼ cup of the water used to cook the wontons to your sauce mixture and stir until smooth. Once the wontons are fully cooked, use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to lift them out of the water and transfer them to a large bowl.
Pour the sauce over the wontons and gently toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, add additional cooking water one tablespoon at a time.
Transfer the wontons to a serving dish and garnish with chopped scallions and peanuts. For those who enjoy a bit of heat, drizzle some chili oil on top.
Enjoy your delicious wontons!
