Vietnamese Fried Pork Wontons – Hoanh Thanh Chien

These crispy fried pork wontons are so easy to make and ready in 30 minutes! Known as Hoanh Thanh Chien, try them with our delicious Vietnamese style sweet and sour dipping sauce or make up a big batch to freeze for later.

Why We Love This

Vietnamese fried pork wontons are super quick and easy to make. Simply blend up your filling, seal a dab inside each wonton wrapper and fold them up into a simple triangular shape. No fussy sealing pattern or tricky techniques required!

You can shallow fry them in a regular frying pan, steam them or boil them in soups such as mi hoanh thanh.

Why not make up a big batch or hoanh thanh so you eat some now and freeze the rest for a tasty appetiser or main meal? It’s even more fun if you can make them with a friend or family member helping – then you can cook them up together, or share the wontons between you.

What is Hoanh Thanh Chien? 

Hoanh Thanh Chien are the Vietnamese version of Chinese wonton dumplings. A symbol of prosperity, luck and hope in Chinese cuisine, wontons made their way to Vietnam through migration and trade, through port cities like Hoi An. 

While similar in essence to Chinese wontons or Japanese gyoza dumplings, Vietnamese style wontons (known as hoanh thanh chien) differ slightly when it comes to ingredients and flavour. 

The biggest difference between Vietnamese fried wontons and spring rolls is in the shape and ingredients of the wrapper. Wontons use smaller wrappers made with egg, while Thai spring roll wrappers are larger and thinner, and Vietnamese spring rolls are make with rice paper. 

Hoanh Thanh are usually filled with minced pork seasoned with garlic, ginger, hoisin and fish sauce, then deep fried until golden brown and crispy. They’re often served as an appetiser with a sweet and sour dipping sauce, but would also be delicious with our super quick dumpling dipping sauce too.

These would go great as an appetiser alongside bigger dishes like Vietnamese Ginger Chicken or Chicken Congee.

Where We Learned This

We first discovered this recipe on a wandering foodie adventure through the port town of Hoi An, Vietnam. We’d already eaten banh xeo wrapped in rice paper rolls.

Then what topped everything off was when a batch of piping hot, crispy, golden Vietnamese fried wontons hit the table in front of us, smothered in a flavourful combo of sweet, sour and fruity flavours unlike any other Vietnamese dish we’d gorged on before. 

One bite and we knew we needed to recreate our own version as closely as possible to how we experienced it that night.

What You’ll Need

For the wontons (hoành thánh chiên):

• Wonton Wrappers – This recipe calls for square wrappers that are then folded over into a simple triangle shape. The yellow colour comes from the inclusion of eggs in the dough. Wonton wrappers can usually be found in the fridge section of supermarkets or Asian grocers, or you could make your own wonton wrappers at home. If you can only find gyoza wrappers (usually pale white circles), you can use them too and fold them over into half moon shapes instead. Cover your wrappers with a damp towel while working to keep them from drying out.
• Pork Mince – You could use any kind of pork, then finely chop it by hand or in the blender if you need. If you don’t like pork, you can substitute for the same amount of minced chicken, turkey, shrimp/prawn or beef. 
• Fish Sauce – This staple Asian ingredient has a strong smell in the bottle, but is perfect for adding savoury flavour to your cooking. You’ll find it at Asian grocers or in well-stocked supermarkets in the international foods section, or online. If you can’t find it or don’t want to use, you can substitute with soy sauce.
• Hoisin Sauce – This tart, sweet and savoury condiment is popular in Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine. Popular substitutes are miso paste, soy sauce or sweet kecap manis. 
• Other Ingredients – Use fresh or jarred garlic and ginger, along with black pepper, cornstarch and vegetable oil.

For the sweet & sour sauce (sốt chua ngọt): 

Tomato and pineapple provide sweetness and texture, amped up with garlic, shallots and spring onion. Fish sauce brings savoury umami flavour alongside sriracha for heat, lime juice for a hint of sour, and a little cornstarch to thicken it all up.

For a slightly different flavour profile, you could try it with this simple Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc mam cham).

Wandercook’s Tips

• Filling – This recipe calls for a blender or food processor to mix all the ingredients together, but if you don’t have one you can mix it with your hands. You could wear food-prep suitable gloves if you prefer to keep your hands clean. 
• Keep Fresh – Either cook or freeze your homemade pork wontons straight after preparing them. This will ensure the wrappers don’t become soggy from the moisture in the filling. Once cooked, pop them onto a plate lined with paper towel to soak up excess oil. 
• Frying – Use a neutral flavoured vegetable oil which has a low smoke point for frying. 
• Don’t Overcook – Just 3-4 mins should be enough to cook the wontons through perfectly. 
• Don’t Crowd the Frying Pan – Adding too many wontons at once will lower the oil temperature, resulting in greasier wontons. For the best, crispiest texture, fry a few at a time, leaving plenty of space around each.

FAQs

Variations & Substitutes

• Protein – Swap the pork for freshly minced shrimp/prawns, chicken, tofu, or a combination of your favourites.
• Get Creative – Try folding the wontons into different shapes, like money bags, purses, fish or ingots.
• Simmer instead of Fry – For slightly healthier wontons, you can steam or simmer them in your favourite Asian soup broth. You could even add them to homemade hot pots like Korean Army Stew or Japanese Shabu Shabu. 
• Sauces – Try our super quick dumpling dipping sauce or create a simple mix of soy sauce, chilli sauce and vinegar. Or for more fusion flavours, top with kewpie mayonnaise or your favourite aioli.

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