I was asked to a number of food-related events during my visit to Yale university this past weekend. One of the events involved families with children adopted from Vietnam. The kids ranged in age from 3 to 12 years old.
My niece Paulina and her cohorts of the ALIVE program at Yale outreach specifically to parents who have adopted children from Vietnam. The parents, kids, and students get together on average once every 3 weeks. The experience helps the children and parents to build bridges between their Vietnamese and American heritage.
Paulina and her friend Vi asked me for a dumpling recipe that they could make with the children. I suggested wontons. That’s what my mother started me on after I learned to make rice for our family. I recommended the poached wontons in soy sauce and chile oil (see the thin skin chapter in Asian Dumplings) because:
(1) the Yale students could prepare the filling in advance
(2) there are good commercial wonton skins available at supermarkets
(3) anyone can wrap a wonton and
(4) the dumplings are simply boiled and then served with the dipping sauce.
Perfect for a party of about 20 kids and an equal amount of adults (40 people total). The chile oil was omitted for picky eaters. Whether or not you make wontons, think of the above 4 points when picking a dumpling to teach children. That is, keep it simple.
By the time I arrived at the event, the wonton filling station was already set up at a coffee table — the perfect height for children to gather around and work. I didn’t think any of that up. The Yale students did!
After a brief introduction, the children and Yale students set out to fill and shape wontons. “The kids are really fast,” Paulina told me. “We showed them how to do it, with using their fingers to wet the wrapper. Then they made their own shapes.”
In about 30 minutes, there were about 100 filled wontons, ready to be poached off. I amazed. The cooked wontons were eaten faster than they were made. Here's a satisfied dumpling maker and eater:
When I was a child, folding wontons was a kitchen assignment that I got. I mostly worked alone and now I know that it’s a terrific kids party activity!
Some other helpful links:
- How to fold basic wonton shapes (video instruction)
- Wonton skin buying guide (tips on finding,
choosing, and using) - Crab Rangoon fried wonton recipe (an American
classic) - Almost
Meatless
Pork and Vegetable Pot Stickers Recipe (w/ an interesting shape to
learn) - Modern
Indian Chile Pea Puffs Recipe(a baked wonton acting like a samosa)
Awww!! This is wonderful! One of the few fond childhood memories I do have were rolling eggrolls at the coffee table in front of the TV. I always made sure my eggrolls were uniform and pretty with smooth bump-less sides. I loved having my mom cook them and serve them to guests and hear the comment on how pretty they were.
What a great idea! I have been looking for things to with my little sister (Big Brothers and Big Sisters program) I think we may have to make time for dumplings soon!
I think this is wonderful Andrea. Teaching kids to cook and getting them involved in food prep is a brilliant way for them to start appreciating food and promote healthy eating. The kids look like they are having a blast.
Keep up the good work!
Hi
My children love making wontons with me and its a great way to spend time with my daughers on a cold and wet Saturday and to teach me the joys of cooking healthy food. They particularly enjoy eating their own wontons. Here are some of our other family favourite recipes http://www.kidshealthyrecipes.com/index.php/healthy-kids-meals/
and I will definitely add wontons on to the list to help promote kids getting involved in cooking healthy food.
Keep up the good work, I will definitely bookmark your site
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Wow what a great lens. And if anyone is looking for healthy meal plans this is one of my favorite health & fitness sites. It lets you track food, workouts, and calories!
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suggested wontons. That’s what my mother started me on after I learned to make rice for our family. I recommended
wo zai malu bian,jian dao yi fen qian,ba ta jiaogei jingcha shushu.
Good journalism is, first and foremost, about reporting, not making product pitches or solutions delivery examples sound better. Focus on the issues your customers, partners, and employees care about and then go do some digging to cover and analyze what’s really happening. Talk to the experts, interview customers and your own employees, crunch some data…be a real resource for news you can use.
It’s so nice to have you do all of the research for us. It makes our decision making so much easier!! Thanks.
I hope you have a nice day! Very good article, well written and very thought out. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts in the future.
Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will visit Iran from September 11 to 13 for talks with the Iranian leadership.
“The recent visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to Pakistan and his meetings with Pakistani leaders will provide important substantive inputs into the visit by the Prime Minister Gilani to Iran,” the APP quoted Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua, as saying at the weekly press briefing.
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