Out of This World New Mexican Wontons – No, Seriously

This is a “From the Kitchen” and “On the Road” combined posting since the home cooking was inspired by a restaurant we visited during our recent trip to New Mexico.  As you know, my husband is from New Mexico, and when we travel to visit his family, I’m treated to various introductions of New Mexican regional cuisine.   One of the favorite hang outs in Las Cruces and Roswell is a pub called Farley’s.  It’s like a burger joint / New Mexican bar cuisine / beer hang out – think local diner food with beer and pool.

When we passed through Roswell during our travels, we took a dinner break and indulged in a local favorite at Farley’s called Green Chile Won Tons.  These are basically

green chile chicken and cheddar cheese stuffed wontons, and while the overall fare at Farley’s didn’t quite blow me away, these wontons were a winner.  They are crispy little pockets filled with yummy goodness, and I knew that they could probably be recreated, maybe even improved.

So started my wonton adventure, and below I’ve decided to share the recipe my husband and I came up with.  I think even this guy here would agree we did a pretty good job!

BB’s Green Chile Chicken Wontons

Ingredients:

3 – 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (your choice of basic seasoning – garlic/onion powder, salt/pepper or herbs)

1/4 Cup Green Chile Salsa (with option to add more if needed)

2/3 Cup Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

Wonton Skins – found in the refrigerated section / frozen Asian food section at the grocery store

Vegetable Oil

Cup of Water (pastry brush optional)

Ranch Dressing (optional)

In a heavy stew pot / dutch oven pan, pour vegetable oil to at least 2/3 up the side and put on med-high heat until temperature reaches about 350º. Season then saute the chicken breasts until cooked – set aside to cool. Once cooled, finely dice the chicken and place in a bowl. Add Green Chile Salsa to diced chicken and mix thoroughly until all chicken pieces are coated but not sopping wet. Add shredded cheese a little at a time, mixing until thoroughly combined into an even distribution. Take wonton squares and separate them onto a cutting board.

Using a spoon, portion small amounts of the mixture into the center of the square wonton. Using fingers or a pastry brush, lightly dampen the edges of the wonton wrapper with water.

In one motion, fold over the wonton to create a triangle.

Seal the edges carefully to prevent separation during frying. Several folding methods can be used – triangle is easiest and quickest.

Carefully place sealed triangles into 350º vegetable oil and fry until golden brown, watching carefully to prevent wonton separation which could create hot oil splashes. Once golden brown, carefully remove the crispy green chile chicken wonton and place onto a paper towel lined baking sheet or plate. Once cool enough, enjoy!  Try it with Ranch Dressing as a dipping sauce… delicious!

The one trick to ours that might not be in your favor is that we got our homemade green chile salsa from a New Mexican native selling it off the side of the road in Ruidoso, New Mexico; however, they do sell green chile salsa at the grocery store that could substitute very well.  Just gives you inspiration to visit New Mexico looking for green chilies some time. Needless to say, BB’s Green Chile Chicken Wontons did not last long in our household, and I had to remind my husband that in order to HAVE any, we probably needed to stop eating them as they came out of the frying oil.  So, good luck with our recreated recipe – let me know how it turns out.