Chinese Cheese Puffs with Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Serves: 6 – 10
- Preparation Time: 35 minutes
- Total Cooking time: 15 minutes
I’m a big time fan of these wonderful Chinese appetizers. Admittedly a bit labor intensive, most of the actual cooking can be done a day ahead then the finished dish assembled and cooked with no more specialized equipment than a deep fryer. If you have a little patience these can all be made with a minimum of effort and expense The cheese puffs can be elaborated on by adding a little imitation crab or green onions as well but are very delicious with just a simple cream cheese filling, letting the sweet and sour dipping sauce provide a wonderfully fruity flavor by itself.
| Amount | Measure | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| 15-20 | wonton wrappers | or use egg roll wrappers cut into quarters |
| 8oz | package | cream cheese |
| 4 | cups | sliced black olives |
| 1 | oz | imitation crab meat (optional) |
| 1/4 | cup | green onion tops chopped (optional) |
| Pinch | black pepper |
Ingredients for Sweet and Sour Sauce
| Amount | Measure | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | cup | apple cider or rice wine vinegar |
| 1/2 | cup | sugar |
| 1/2 | cup | water |
| 1/2 | cup | orange juice concentrate (right out of the can) |
| 3 | tbsp | apricot jam |
| 1 | tsp | fresh ginger finely crushed |
| 2 | tbsp | cornstarch in ¼ cup water |
| few drops | red | food coloring (optional does not affect flavor) |
| salt and pepper to taste |
To Prepare Cheese Puffs:
To assemble the cheese puffs, moisten the edges of the wrapper then place 1 tbsp of the cream cheese mixture in the center of the wrapper. Gather the sides together to make a sort of “purse” pinching together to seal. Heat a deep fryer to 360 degrees or a deep heavy skillet with approximately 3″ deep oil. Place the Cheese Puffs into the hot oil in small batches (no more than 5-6 pieces at a time) for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from deep fryer and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with Sweet and sour sauce.
To Prepare Sweet and Sour Sauce (this can be done ahead of time):
Combine all ingredients except for cornstarch mixture and red food coloring (if used) in a small sauce pan. Bring mixture to a full boil then reduce heat and stir in the cornstarch and water mixture, return to a boil then add food coloring if desired. Remove from heat and let cool. Cover and store until needed.
