(Part of the Chinese New Year Theme Thursday Series)
About a year has passed since I made these Asian Sesame Ginger Chicken Wonton Cups for the first time. In fact, it may have been exactly one year ago that I was scrambling to get things together for the millionth potluck dinner I was attending for my sorority. I had no idea what to make, as I really had just become interested in cooking. (It’s so strange now to say that.) I had made Wontons a day or two earlier for the Chinese New Year, and I had a bunch of leftover wrappers, so I decided to try out a new concept I had heard about– making wonton cups using a muffin tin. It was such an out-there idea, and I was really excited to try it. That was a year ago. Now it seems like everyone knows about– and has recipes using– wonton cups.
At that point in time, I also had just started my last semester as a full-time college student; my last semester living with my long-time roommate, Jackie, in New Brunswick; I had just started casually dating my now-boyfriend, James; I didn’t have a job; I didn’t have a plan; I had no idea what my life would be like in one year’s time.
So my clueless, college-student self wound up making these Asian Sesame Ginger Wonton Cups, on a whim. I brought them to the potluck dinner, and that was the first time I had a group of people repetitively and fervently compliment a meal I made. That was the spark I needed to ignite what some might call my obsession with (but I prefer to refer too it as my passion for) cooking and entertaining, which led me to where I am today.
One year later, my life is very different than anything I would have imagined back then. A lot has changed, but this recipe for Asian Sesame Ginger Wonton Cups remains in my repertoire of recipes to make again and again, so I wanted to share it with you.
These flavorful cups are easy to put together and will make a great addition to your next get-together, Chinese New Year or otherwise. Make extras. They go quickly.
- 1 pack wonton wrappers
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 2 cups cole slaw cabbage mix
- 1 bottle sesame ginger salad dressing
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup stir fry sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
- ½ red onion, chopped
- 3 scallions, chopped
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the sesame ginger salad dressing, ½ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup stir fry sauce, and the minced garlic.
- Place the chicken in the bowl and cover with the mixture. Then, refrigerate for an hour.
- In the mean time, mix 2 cups coleslaw cabbage mix with ¼ cup sesame ginger dressing and set aside.
- Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray. Gently press wonton wrappers into each cup. You may need to use 2 to fill your muffin cup, in which case you can simply overlap them and use a small bit of water to bind them together, as if you were gluing them together. Lightly spray the wrappers with cooking spray before putting them in the oven.
- Bake until wrappers turn golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.
- After the chicken has marinated for an hour, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and all of the marinade. Cook until chicken is no longer pink on the inside, stirring often, about 8-12 minutes.
- Add a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken up the marinade sauce, if you’d like.
- Remove from heat and begin filling your wonton cups. Each cup should have some of the dressed coleslaw mix at the bottom, then a layer of chicken, and then top them with cilantro, red onion, and scallions.
These caused my “aha!” “I do really like to cook!” moment. Did you have a similar experience with a recipe? What was the recipe for?
