Homemade Wonton Wrappers (雲吞皮)

This recipe for Homemade Wonton Wrappers (雲吞皮) yields a dough is naturally colored, thin, and perfect for wonton dumplings or for pork siu mai.

What are wonton wrappers?

Wonton wrappers are a thin dough traditionally made of flour, salt, water and lye water, used for making wonton dumplings and pork siu mai.

What's the difference between wonton wrappers and dumpling wrappers?

Wonton wrappers are traditionally square, whereas dumpling wrappers are round.

Dumpling wrappers for Chinese dumplings (jiao zi) don't typically contain alkali water (lye water/kan sui) and have a softer texture than wontons, which have a silky, chewier texture.

What about siu mai wrappers?

However, for Cantonese-style siu mai dumplings, the dough skin is the same as wonton skin wrappers, cut into a round shape.

The siu mai wrappers are also more yellow in color due to the addition of egg (and food coloring, in many cases).

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe for homemade wonton skin wrappers is:

Naturally colored: commercially-made wonton wrappers can contain food coloring to give it its yellow color. Using pumpkin puree adds a natural yellow color to the skin.

Easy to make: the dough is simple to make with minimal ingredients, and using a pasta roller to sheet the dough makes the process less labor intensive.

Versatile: cut the dough into squares to make traditional wonton dumplings, or cut the dough into round circles to make wrappers for siu mai.

Egg-free: using pumpkin in place of the egg makes this dough vegan and vegetarian, and perfect for those who may have egg allergies.

Special equipment you'll need

• pasta roller: to ensure a thin wrapper; I used an attachment for my stand mixer

Ingredients you'll need

• all-purpose flour (麵粉): regular flour
• cooked pumpkin puree (南瓜泥): you can use canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin, such as kabocha squash
• lye water (鹼水): is also known as kan sui, or potassium carbonate; adds a silky, chewy texture to the wonton wrappers; also used in steamed BBQ pork buns and homemade Chinese egg noodles
• sea salt (鹽): for flavor
• tapioca starch (菱粉): for dusting to prevent sticking; or cornstarch

How to make wonton wrappers from scratch

Make the dough:

In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, salt, and pumpkin puree.

Mix in lye water and knead in the bowl until it forms a dough.

Cover and let the dough rest for 30 mins.

Knead the dough again until smooth, cover in plastic wrap and roll into a 6" square.

Re-wrap the dough in another piece of plastic wrap and let it rest overnight at room temperature. If your kitchen is too warm, place into the fridge to rest.

Cut dough into 3 pieces.

Flatten into a long 3"-wide strip with a rolling pin.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 30-60 mins.

Roll the dough:

Run the dough through the pasta roller, working from the thickest setting to the thinnest setting, and running it through the thinnest setting a second time. 

Use a sharp knife (or pizza cutter) to cut the dough into 3" square shape for traditional wonton, or with a 3" round cutter for siu mai wrappers.

Dust each wrapper liberally with tapioca starch.

Ready to use for making wontons or siu mai.

How to use the homemade wonton wrappers

Cut the wonton wrappers in 3" squares to make homemade wontons, and drizzle the finished wontons with chili oil.

Add wontons with homemade egg noodles to make a comforting wonton noodle soup.

Alternatively, cut the wrappers into 3" rounds to make the siu mai skin wrappers for Cantonese pork siu mai.

You can also cut the original dough into thin strips to make wonton noodles. 

How to store

Fridge:

If not using right away, ensure the wrappers are well-dusted with tapioca starch and cover in plastic wrap. Place into a freezer bag. 

Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Freezer:

Place the plastic-wrapped wonton wrappers into an airtight freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

Defrost in the fridge overnight prior to using. 

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