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 until the filling binds into a cohesive paste. It is done when the mixture 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. Place a scant teaspoon of filling at the centre. Fold the wrapper into a triangle, pressing the air out firmly, then bring the two base corners together and press to seal. Continue until all filling is used. The seal is done when no air pocket remains and the join holds without springing open.
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 — and stir once more. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon; this is where the dish lives or dies: a thin sauce will not meld with the warm wontons, and omitting the sesame paste produces a lesser dish entirely.
4
Bring a large pot of water to a full rolling boil. Add the wontons in batches, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Cook until they float and the wrappers turn translucent and silky, approximately 4–5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; do not refresh in cold water. They are done when the wrapper is tender and offers no resistance to the touch.
5
Divide the warm wontons between four bowls. Spoon the chili oil sauce over generously — each wonton should be well-dressed and glistening. Scatter crispy garlic and crushed peanuts over the top. Serve immediately; the dish is ready when the sauce smell — spice, sesame, and vinegar together — rises clearly from the bowl.
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
Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley Riesling
Ancient Lakes Vineyard — Cave B · Ancient Lakes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
From British Columbia
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Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance