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)