Fiery Sichuan Wontons

Filling:

• 1 pound ground pork shoulder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
• 1 1/2 ounces minced scallions (about 2 scallions)
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
• 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine

Wrappers:

• 40 thin square wonton wrappers

Sauce:

• 1/4 canola
• 2 Tbsp. chili oil
• 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons sichuan peppercorns, freshly ground
• 1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons Chinkiang black vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (about 3 medium cloves)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

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Knead together the filling ingredients in a medium bowl.

Form wontons by placing about 2 tsp of filling in the middle of a wrapper, wetting the edges of the wrapper with a wet finger, folding in half, sealing the edges, and folding the wings around.

Boil wontons in batches of 10–12 for 4 minutes per batch. While boiling, combine sauce ingredients.

Remove wontons from water with a skimmer, spoon sauce over them, and serve.

Substitutions:

Shiaoxing and chinkiang are available at Asian markets (e.g. YZ mart) or online. If unavailable, sub a 1:2 ratio of balsamic:rice wine vinegar in place of chinkiang. Substitute cooking sherry for shiaoxing.