Wonton, or Chinese dumpling, is a popular staple throughout China. As a Cantonese, I am proud to say that the word wonton comes from Cantonese and not Mandarin, as dumplings were likely introduced to the West by early Chinatown settlers, who came mainly from the Cantonese-speaking coastal cities of southern China.

In Chinese, wonton means “swallowed clouds.” If you’re familiar with Chinese art, you may also find that wontons, floating in the broth, resemble the traditional “spiral cloud” motif in Chinese crafts. One famous example: The Beijing Olympics torch is known as the “lucky cloud torch” in Chinese.

Wontons are slightly different in various parts of China. Can I give you an introduction?

cantonese wonton

Cantonese wontons have a yellow wrapper (made of flour and egg: think a sheet of dough) that is typically filled with minced pork and shrimp. The dumplings are usually served on egg noodles, a type of thin, very chewy (almost like a rubber band) noodle that is prevalent in southern China. Interestingly, the preparation of the broth is an art unto itself: all the best wonton shops have their own secret recipes for the soup base; but generally, shrimp shells are believed to be a main ingredient.

shanghainese wonton

This type of Chinese dumpling has a thicker white casing (made only from flour) and the filling includes minced pork and Shanghai bok choy. In some variations, chopped leeks and chives are added. For soup, the soup base is usually made by mixing soy sauce, water, and a bit of seasoning, mainly to color the unappealing white appearance. (White is a taboo color for traditional Chinese because it is associated with death.)

While minced pork remains the most popular ingredient, international cuisines have inspired many new varieties: chicken with mushrooms, carrots, beans with corn, canned vegetables with black fungus…exciting!

sichuan wontons

Known as “Chao Shou” (crossed hands), they also have a relatively thick white wrapper. Chao Shou is boiled and served in a very, very spicy sauce, as in almost all Sichuan cuisine.

As to why this particular dumpling is called Chao Shou, I think its name originates from the way it is wrapped: the wrapper is first folded into a triangular shape and the two sides of the triangle are brought to the front, overlapping. each other, resembling a person crossing their arms.

Shanghai wonton is also folded into a triangle shape, but a slight twist in the second fold gives it a lovely shape. For the Cantonese style, the wonton is simply wrapped by bringing the four corners together and squeezing. Cantonese wontons first appeared as street food, and street vendors found the fastest way to wrap them.

You may have noticed that I never mention fried wontons. Yeah, we never deep fry our wontons. They are boiled, then served on a plate or in a bowl of broth. That is why they are also known as Wonton Soup.

What is the difference between Jiaozi (Gyoza) and Wonton?

Oh, they are different. Jiaozi, or gyoza in Japanese, are basically potstickers: they have a thicker wrapper, with a texture similar to thick dumpling wrappers. They also take a longer, flatter, horn-like shape (“Jiao” sounds like “horn” in Mandarin). Depending on the provinces of China, you can taste jiaozi made with pork, beef, lamb, chicken or fish mixed with a wide variety of vegetables. They can be boiled, steamed or fried and are served with a dipping sauce. Red vinegar, soy sauce, and chili sauce are among the most popular.

Now that you know a lot more about wontons, maybe your next wonton soup will taste even better!