Home RecipesBeef Homemade Won Tons with Dipping Sauce

Homemade Won Tons with Dipping Sauce

by Jamie
This amazing recipe has been living and breathing on my site for nearly 13 years now. I’ve updated it today with lots of new pictures (thank goodness) and instructions. While making changes to the post, I couldn’t help but reflect on the many years that we’ve been making this recipe, as a family. It’s one of those gather-round-the-counter-and-help type recipes. My daughter Emily requests them for her birthday each year…
Here she is, with my daughter Anna, building Won Tons so many years ago!
…and here they are now. They’ve grown into adults.
… and I’ve grown into a Grandma. 🙂
That’s the funny thing about time, isn’t it? It brings a person right along with it.

The Won Tons featured in this post are a result of my Father in laws missionary service in Japan when he was in his young adult-hood. Throughout the years he made them countless times for his large family of 8 children. I wonder if he realized when he started the tradition, that we would still be making them…nearly 60 years after he learned how.

This past weekend, as we made them for Emily’s 21st birthday…vegetables being chopped, fingers dipped into flour water paste, and pans sizzling with the finished product…it occurred to me again…

That food is a powerful tool that can brings us together.

For my entire married life we’ve been making this recipe. It brings up all kinds of nostalgia and sentimentality and memories.

But.

This little recipe would mean nothing to me, without the people I’ve made it with over the years.

I’m sometimes guilty of being so focused on the food, that I forget it’s actual use.

Obviously, it exists to nourish us.

But for this recipe…

…it’s the connection to my father in law, and my own children and now grandchildren is what I love most when I make them. It reminds me of him and and all the years that have gone by and the time we’ve spent loving and experiencing and struggling together.

Just a thought, for you today, my friends.

My love to you and your family. May we always use food as a tool to bring people together. 🙂

Now, let me show you how to make these terrific Won Tons happen.
You’re going to start with these pretty veggies.
Use a food processor to dice them up into tiny, tiny pieces. Add the ground beef and seasonings.
Grab your won ton wrappers…
… and place 4 out at a time.
Scoop a little less than a tablespoon onto each shell, then coat the inside corners with the flour and water paste.
Seal the edges.Cook according to directions below!

Serves: 10-12 servings Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts: NA calories NA fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 1 voted )

Ingredients

  • Filling:
  • 1/2 head green cabbage
  • 2 onions
  • 2-3 large carrots
  • 1 T ginger
  • 1 1/2 t salt
  • 1 t red pepper flakes
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 t black pepper
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 1 egg
  • Shells:
  • 2 50 count pkg won ton wrappers (found in the produce section)
  • flour and water (1 part flour to 2 parts water)
  • Dipping Sauce:
  • 1 C rice vinegar
  • 1/2 C soy sauce
  • 1 t red pepper flakes
  • 1 t sesame oil
  • 1/2 t toasted sesame seeds (optional)
  • 1/2 C sugar

Instructions

1. Chop the veggies up super small. We actually put them in a mini food processor, a few at a time to get them the right size. You want to be careful not to turn them to mush.
2. Mix the veggies, seasonings, and hamburger together. Add the egg and mix well. Adam usually just puts his hands in the bowl and mixes it all up that way.
3. Mix the flour and water together to make a paste.
4. Lay four won ton wrappers out at a time in a square. Dip your finger in the paste and then coat the inside edges of the wrappers with it. You can see in the picture below which edges have the paste on them.
5. Place about 1 T of meat mixture into the center of each wrapper.
6. Fold the edges of each wrapper together, and press so the paste has a chance to seal. Repeat with all wrappers.
7. In a large skillet heat 1 T olive oil. Fry the won tons over medium heat (covered) for about 5-6 minutes. Remove the lid, turn the won tons over and cook for another 5-6 minutes (uncovered)
8. After all the won tons are cooked (we usually have 2 fry pans and an electric skillet all going at the same time to speed things up) pour the Dipping Sauce ingredients into the hot fry pan. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Let it heat through for about 2 minutes. Pour into a serving dish and you are ready to eat. We serve it with piping hot white rice.

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28 comments

alex November 29, 2009 - 4:32 am

Uh, Yum!!!! I'm totally going to try these out soon. I LOVE WON TONS! Happy Sat SITS!

Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
http://www.MaWhats4Dinner.com

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Heavenly Housewife April 19, 2010 - 6:46 pm

Wow, these look positively scrumptious. I wish i could come for dinner 🙂

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Anonymous May 15, 2010 - 1:32 pm

These look delicious…and your daughters are adorable!!

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Anonymous May 21, 2010 - 12:52 am

No wonder it's Korean dipping source 🙂

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Anonymous June 2, 2010 - 3:41 pm

Wow i just came across your blog and i absolutely cant wait to try some of your recipes. This one especially looks awesome. mmmm

I have been looking for a while now for a Soft and Chewy Chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was wondering if you know a good one?

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Jamie Cooks It Up! June 2, 2010 - 6:10 pm

Anonymous,
Funny you should ask about chocolate chip cookies. I have a recipe I am planning to post this week sometime. It's fabulous! Been making them for years..hope you enjoy the recipes!
~Jamie

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Traci July 5, 2010 - 9:27 pm

These are so so so so good! My husband and I just finished making and eating them and it's probably now our favorite dinner (your sweet pork is tied with it)! I'll be sharing your blog with lots of friends!

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Ann October 18, 2010 - 3:41 pm

Those look so good. Is the hamburger raw….and it cooks enough in 5-6 minutes? What about the juices/liquid from the meat? Sorry, I'm one of those people who needs real specific instructions. I was the kid in class who, after the teacher was done talking, was always looking around, “What did she say? What do we do first?”

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Jamie Cooks It Up! October 19, 2010 - 3:36 pm

Ann,
The hamburger is raw when you put it in. They usually cook up just fine. You need to cook them 5-6 minutes on each side. Good luck! Hope they turn out well.
~Jamie

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J and L January 10, 2011 - 6:22 pm

Hi Jamie!
This recipe looks really great. I have one question though. I'm pregnant and am a little weird about ground beef right now. Do you think this would taste good with ground turkey or ground chicken??

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Jamie Cooks It Up! January 10, 2011 - 9:28 pm

J and L,
I bet it would work out just fine to use ground turkey or chicken. Let me know how it goes!
~Jamie

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J and L February 19, 2011 - 2:26 am

Jamie!
We tried them out with ground turkey and it was fantastic!! We had a hard time getting an even brown on the wontons, but its probably operator error (and our uneven electric stove!). Still flavors were wonderful!
Have you ever tried frying them in a fryer?? (my husband's asking… you know, anytime he can use the fryer…)
Thanks for the recipe!
Lauren

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Jamie Cooks It Up! February 23, 2011 - 5:00 am

Lauren,
So glad to hear you loved them! And yes, you can deep fry them.
Have a good one!
~Jamie

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kamagra March 10, 2011 - 7:37 pm

Excellent way to post a recipe. Wontons are commonly boiled and served in soup or sometimes deep-fried, but this is completely different at the same time is something easy to make. There are several common regional variations of shape.23jj

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Diana July 26, 2011 - 7:05 pm

I used ground turkey for this recipe and it was SO GOOD! I didn't care for the dipping sauce though. It was too vinegary (is that a word?) for me.

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JaNae Lee January 21, 2012 - 12:17 am

We have started substituting the ground beef for mild sausage. I LOVE the flavor! Totally changes it…in a good way! YAY!! We also put approx 2T of peanut butter in the dipping sauce. (soy butter actually- because our oldest is allergic to PB). WHOA!! FLAVOR!!! I am kind of lazy, so I put a bag of coleslaw in place of the cabbage, carrot and stuff. I do add the onions, though. This is now a Lee family favorite. I get requests from my in-law bro/sisters to “come to my house for won tons”. They feed an army and everyone LOVES them.

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Megan E. September 19, 2012 - 3:01 pm

I know this recipe was posted awhile ago, but man were these tasty!! I also took a shortcut and bought a bag of broccoli/carrot slaw and threw it in the food processor-tasted great! I ended up with a fair amount of meat leftover, but not enough to use a whole extra package of wontons-any ideas of what to do with the extra meat? I can’t wait to make these again!! Thanks for this recipe and the many others you share. 🙂

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Jamie September 20, 2012 - 8:59 am

Hi Megan,
I’m so glad you loved these, they are a family favorite around here. 🙂 If you have leftover meat filling, you can freeze it and then use it another time. Just be sure to let it thaw completlety. It will be a little bit “wet” but if you press the liquid from it you should be fine. Good luck!
~Jamie

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Tammy Henderson January 31, 2013 - 8:17 pm

This looks wonderful. We lived in Japan for many years, and my kids are totally missing the food. Have you ever frozen the wontons before frying them? There’s only 4 of us here and I think 100 would be a bit much for us to eat.

Thanks so much for this site. You are my go-to for menu planning ’cause all your recipes are great! :o)

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Anna May 10, 2014 - 3:50 pm

Hey jamie, I love your site! I was wondering if you could go ahead and cook the filling the night before and then put them into the wonton paper?

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Jamie May 12, 2014 - 8:40 am

Anna,
The filling and the outer shell need to cook together to make these great. Best of luck!
~Jamie

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Sara July 9, 2014 - 8:34 am

These look great – my only issue is that I cook for just 1 – 2 people every day and always have leftover produce go bad because I cannot eat it in time. Have you ever made these in advance and froze them? Wondering if they would still be good (and as I am new to this freezer cooking method), am assuming it would have to be frozen uncooked and then cooked when ready to eat?

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Jamie July 12, 2014 - 5:44 pm

Sara,
I haven’t ever frozen the actual stuffed wontons, so I’m not sure how it would work out. I imagine if you could lay them out flat on a cookie sheet and freeze, then store them in a ziploc bag they would be fine. I have however frozen the filling with great success. Just let it thaw when you are ready to stuff the won ton wrappers and you will be good to go. Best of luck to you!
~Jamie

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Jennifer August 30, 2014 - 4:48 pm

Made these today & my 10 year old son & the husband loved them! Pan fried technique was easily explained & I nailed it! I was worried I was being wasteful, making such a large batch but I just went to the kitchen and there are hardly any left! I have tried making pork dumplings before but I can’t seem to get the meat flavored right. Using this beef mixture was tasty good. Thanks so much for your recipes–this one is a keeper.

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Weekly Menu Plan: Jan 23-30 January 23, 2016 - 12:30 am

[…] Homemade Won Tons with Dipping Sauce White Rice […]

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Lisa July 20, 2016 - 8:49 pm

These were delicious! I loved the dipping sauce as well….so much flavor! Thanks for this very tasty recipe.

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Jamie July 21, 2016 - 9:55 am

Lisa,
Wonderful! Thanks for letting me know.
Best,
~Jamie

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Becca April 4, 2023 - 5:21 pm

I’ve been making short-cut wontons (shredded pork, BBQ sauce, and tri-color coleslaw) for years and it’s time for a change! I have everything listed in your recipe. Today is the day! I can’t wait to make and eat a few (dozen!) of these wontons. Thank you, Jamie!

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