Abalone and Spicy Octopus Wontons

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by H Mart, one of my go-to grocery stores for Korean groceries. All images and opinions expressed are solely my own. Thanks for supporting me and the brands that help make Jen’s Food Lab possible! 

Ingredients for the wontons

• 1 pound ground pork 
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil 
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger 
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
• (Optional) 1 egg white
• 1 package (5 pieces) H Mart’s Frozen Boiled Abalone
• 1 package (12oz) H Mart’s Spicy Stir-Fry Small Octopus
• 50 square wonton wrappers
• 1/4 cup water (for sealing the wontons)
• Soy sauce (for dipping)

Ingredients for the soup

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 slices ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt

This recipe makes approximately 50 wontons.

Instructions

1. First, let’s prepare the abalone. Defrost the abalone by putting the package in the refrigerator overnight or by soaking the package in cold water.
2. Then, in a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add all 5 abalone into the boiling water. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender.
3. Cool the abalone down in a separate bowl. Make sure to save the abalone broth, since that will form the basis of the soup.
4. Now, let’s make the pork filling! In a large bowl, combine ground pork, salt, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, white pepper, cornstarch, and egg white if you’re using it to the mixture. Stir vigorously in one direction until the mixture looks sticky, about 5-10 minutes. Evenly separate out the pork filling into two separate bowls.
5. Next, let’s work with the abalone. Dice the boiled abalone into small pieces. Add the diced abalone into one of the pork filling bowls. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Next, let’s work with the spicy small octopus. Drain the sauce, so that you’re left with the vegetables and octopus in the package (and a little bit of sauce). You can save the sauce for later for dipping! Dice the vegetables and octopus into small pieces. Add into the other pork filling bowl. Mix until evenly combined.
7. To assemble each wonton, take a wonton wrapper and using your finger to trace the border all the way around with water. This will help the wonton wrapper stick to itself. 
8. Take approximately 1 tablespoon of whichever filling and place it in the middle of the wonton wrapper. Fold one corner of the wonton to its opposite corner, creating a triangle. Pinch the seams of the wonton to seal it. Make sure that there are no air bubbles. Repeat for the rest of the wonton wrappers and filling. If you’re making a large batch, you can freeze the raw wontons at this point in the freezer for further storage. 
9. To cook the wontons, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place about 5-8 wontons in the boiling water for about 5 minutes. Scoop the wontons out and repeat for the rest of your wontons. 
10. After, let’s make the broth! In a medium saucepan, add the abalone broth from when you boiled the abalone. Add chicken broth, ginger, and salt and bring to a boil for about 5-7 minutes.
11. Serve wontons in a bowl and add soup. Make sure you get both kinds of wontons in there! Feel free to use some soy sauce for dipping, add some noodles, and the sky’s the limit! You’re done!

Abalone and Spicy Octopus Wontons are my new favorite seafood (basically surf and turf) wontons! A huge thank you to H Mart for sponsoring this post to highlight their seafood lines. On one hand, we have the abalone wontons which have an amazing texture from the meaty, chewy abalone that complements the pork super well with the pure abalone flavor (especially when you eat the wontons with the broth). On the other hand, we have the spicy octopus wontons, which has a much stronger flavor from the spicy sauce and also a nice crunch from the vegetables. Wontons are perfect to make ahead of time too, so make lots! Next time you’re craving some wontons, try this unique take for something new in your life. Let me know in the comments below if you made this Abalone and Spicy Octopus Wontons and how it went!

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