Learn how to do anything: How to Wrap Wontons

Wontons - boiled, pan-seared, or fried, these Chinese dumplings are always delicious. Today, with the rise of pre-wrapped, frozen, supermarket-style wontons, the art of wrapping ones' own wontons has become somewhat rare. Luckily, by following just a few easy steps, it's easy to learn "wikiHow" to wrap wontons by hand either with store-bought wrappers (sometimes called "skins") or your own wrappers made from scratch (see: How to Make Wonton Wrappers). See Step 1 below to get started!

Ingredients

Wonton filling
Wonton wrappers
Bowl of water

Steps

Using a Crescent Fold

Grab your filling, wrappers, and a bowl of water. To begin, prepare your wonton-wrapping work space. You'll need just four things - a bowl of filling, a bowl of warm water, a set of store-bought wonton wrappers, and a clean, flat area (like a cutting board) to work on.
- Wontons can have a wide variety of fillings - the exact type of filling you use is up to you. One very common type of filling is made from ground pork and minced shrimp held together with flour or cornstarch.^[1] Spices and herbs like garlic and green onions are often added to this filling.
Lay your wrapper flat in the center of your work area. Ensure your hands are clean, then dip a finger in your warm water and use it to moisten the edges of the wrapper. This helps the wonton hold together and stay shut during the cooking process.
Add filling and fold the wonton in half.
- Place about a teaspoon of filling (or less) in the very center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half to make a rectangular shape. Press gently to force out any air that's trapped under the fold - you don't want any air bubbles in your wonton. This is because any air that's trapped within the wonton will naturally expand as it's heated during cooking, potentially rupturing the wonton.
- Don't over-stuff your wonton - this can keep it from cooking thoroughly. A good rule of thumb is that you've over-stuffed your wonton if you can't fold it in half a second time at this point in the process.
Fold the wonton back so that its sides overlap. Next, you'll want to fold the wonton back over itself in the direction of the filling. In other words, take the two corners of the rectangle formed by the wrapper that are on the same edge as the ball of filling and fold them over each other to make a circular or crescent-shaped dumpling. Then, dip your finger in the warm water, wet one of the edges you just folded over the other, and re-fold it, pinching to seal the edges together.
Repeat as needed. Congratulations - you've just wrapped your first wonton. With practice, this skill will become second-nature. Use the rest of your filling and wrappers to make more wontons in the same way as you formed the first. Cook by boiling, deep-frying, or pan-frying. Alternatively, refrigerate immediately.

Using a Four Corners Fold

Place your filling in the center of the wrapper. This wrapping method gives you a wonton that looks a little like a grocery bag with its handles stretched tight. Begin in the same way as you did for the method above. Lay your wrapper down flat in your work area and add about one teaspoon of filling in the very center.
Fold one corner inward. Next, grab one of the wrapper's corners and fold it over your ball of filling. The tip of the corner should be at (or even slightly past) the center of the wonton. Moisten the top of this corner of the wrapper with warm water after you've folded it.
- You don't need to moisten the corner's bottom edge. It will naturally adhere to the filling somewhat, but even this isn't essential for a wonton that holds together.
Fold the opposite corner inward. Next, grab the corner that's opposite the one you just folded - in other words, the corner diagonally across from it. Take this corner and gently fold it over the top of the filling and the other corner. The tips of the two corners should overlap slightly.
- When you fold this second corner over the top, it should gently adhere to the corner underneath because of the water you used to moisten it.
Fold the two remaining corners into an upward "point". Next, you'll need to fold the two remaining corners (the other set of diagonal opposites) together. Moisten one (not both) of the remaining corners with warm water. Then, take each corner and fold it neatly over the filling. Bring the two corners together so that they come together flat against one another. The end result should be that these two corners are stuck together pointing roughly upwards over the filling, which is gathered in the bottom.
- If you need to, you can lightly pinch the two upward-pointing corners together to help them adhere to each other.
- Congratulations! You're done.

Using a Hong Kong-style Fold

Balance a wrapper on a ring made with your finger and thumb. This method makes a wonton that looks like a sack of money or an old-fashioned coin purse. To begin, touch the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb to make a small ring (this should look like the "A-OK" hand gesture). Lay your wrapper on top of this ring, centered over the hole. It's not a problem if it droops slightly into the hole.
Place your filling in the center of the wrapper. Next, take about a teaspoon of filling (as before) and place it in a ball in the center of the wrapper. Use the spoon you used to scoop your filling to push the filling down through the ring made by your fingers slightly. This should draw the corners of the wrapper inward.
- Don't push too hard! You don't want to end up with your filling, wrapper, or both on the floor.
Close the ring. As you push the filling down, gently bring the edges of the wrapper together by closing the ring made by your fingers. As you do this, the edges of the wrapper should close together above the filling. When you finish bringing the edges of the wrapper together, your wonton should look like a tiny "sack" of filling with its upper edges ruffled up.
Dab warm water around the opening and seal. The last thing you want your wonton to do is to come apart while you cook it. To ensure your wonton holds together, dab a little warm water around the opening of the wonton and press the edges together to seal. Because the edges are crumpled up, you may need to re-apply water as needed if you have trouble getting the opening to stay shut.
- Congratulations! You're done. Lather, rinse, repeat, and enjoy your delicious wontons.
Finished.