P
Chinese · Chengdu, Sichuan
Sichuan Spicy Wontons in Chili Oil (Hong You Chao Shou)
Hong you chao shou (红油抄手) — Chengdu's beloved wonton in chili oil — features silky pork-filled wontons in a non-soup preparation: the cooked wontons are dressed with a complex chili oil sauce containing soy, black vinegar, sesame paste, sugar, and aromatic chili oil. No broth — the sauce is the medium. One of the defining Sichuan street foods.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the pork filling
300 g
minced pork
Your own market
15 g
2
scallions
finely chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tbsp
Shaoxing wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
½ tsp
ground white pepper
Your own market
1 tsp
sesame oil
Your own market
For the wontons
30–36 sheets
thin wonton wrappers
square, as thin as available
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the chili oil sauce
2 tbsp
soy sauce
1 tbsp
Chinese black vinegar
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tbsp
sesame paste
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
sugar
Your own market
3 tbsp
Sichuan chili oil
homemade; with sediment
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
To finish
1 tbsp
crispy fried garlic
Your own market
2 tbsp
roasted peanuts
roughly crushed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Combine the minced pork, ginger, scallion, Shaoxing wine, white pepper, and sesame oil in a bowl. Mix thoroughly — working the mixture in one direction so the filling tightens into a cohesive paste that pulls away from the sides of the bowl rather than sitting loose — until it holds its shape on a spoon without slumping.
From the canon — Spring onion is the most ubiquitous aromatic in Chinese cooking and its function is more complex than its common use as a garnish suggests. SCALLION (SPRING ONION) TECHNIQUE →
2
Lay a wonton wrapper flat and place a scant teaspoon of filling at the centre. Fold into a triangle and press the air out firmly before sealing, so no trapped pocket expands during cooking and forces the join open, then bring the two base corners together and press to seal. The join holds when it shows no tendency to spring apart under light pressure.
3
Whisk together the soy sauce, black vinegar, sesame paste, and sugar until the paste is fully dissolved into the liquid. Add the Sichuan chili oil with its sediment — the sediment carries the toasted spice and colour that make the sauce worth eating — and stir once more; the sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon.
4
Bring a large pot of water to a full rolling boil and add the wontons in batches, stirring gently at first so they do not settle and weld to the base of the pot. Cook until they float and the wrappers turn translucent and silky, approximately 4–5 minutes, then lift out with a slotted spoon without refreshing in cold water, because rinsing would wash away the starch that helps the sauce cling. They are done when the wrapper is tender and offers no resistance to the touch.
5
Divide the warm wontons between four bowls and spoon the chili oil sauce over generously so each wonton is well-dressed and glistening. Scatter the crispy fried garlic and crushed roasted peanuts over the top. Serve immediately.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Homemade chili oil from dried Sichuan facing-heaven chillies, hand-minced heritage-breed pork shoulder, and freshly ground sesame paste; handmade wrappers rolled to near-transparency.
02
Estate — High-quality Sichuan chili oil from a specialist producer, good free-range pork mince, quality Chinese sesame paste (zhima jiang), and fresh commercial wonton wrappers selected for thinness.
03
Market — Reliable supermarket chili oil supplemented with extra Sichuan peppercorn, standard pork mince, tahini as a substitute for sesame paste (accepted with some loss of character), and fresh wrappers.
04
House — Convenience chili sauce in place of chili oil, standard pork mince, peanut butter in place of sesame paste, and frozen wonton wrappers; the dish remains recognisable but lacks the layered heat and sesame depth of the original.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Wonton wrappers turn fully translucent and the parcels float freely at the surface of the boiling water.
◇Sight. The finished sauce coats the back of a spoon in a thick, brick-red film; it does not run thin.
◇Touch. A sealed wonton yields no air pocket under gentle pressure and the seam does not part.
◇Smell. The dressed bowls release a clear compound aroma of toasted sesame, Sichuan chilli heat, and black vinegar brightness simultaneously.
◇Where it lives or dies. The sauce must be thick, sesame-rich, and applied generously to warm wontons; a thin sauce or the absence of sesame paste reduces the dish to something categorically different.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
2023 seven stars VEGA
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery · Naramata Bench
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery · Penticton →Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance