After Super bowl Sunday, we have Oscar night to look forward to! By the way, speaking of Super bowl, have you seen the movie ‘80 for Brady‘? If you loved Grace and Frankie, you will love 80 for Brady! Jane Fonda & Lilly Tomlin now team up with Rita Moreno and Sally Fields! Just delightful! It is out in theaters. Great movie to take your mom, mother-in-law, grandma…
Back to our Oscars! So we may not be wearing Prada in the comfort of our living room but we can prepare a nice spread for the occasion! There are so many great options to choose from. I love to make little cheese pouches that can be flavored with pesto, sundried tomatoes and more.
They are a cross between crab Rangoon and French cheese puffs! I love the first ones but since Chinese restaurants use crab with cream cheese, these aren’t exactly an option for vegans! French cheese puffs are usually made with goat cheese or brie. So this only leaves one option, making them at home! They are the perfect size for one bite, keep your fingers clean, and you don’t even need a plate! My kind of finger food!
Wrappers
There are a few types, like wonton, and eggroll skins. There are even gluten-free wraps now! Thin crisp purses are usually made with Lumpia or popiah wrappers that can only be found online or in Asian grocery stores. Round wrappers tend to be on the small side so you will be making small bundles. The wrappers are delicate so you must be careful when separating each wrap and when sealing them. Purses are often deep fried but they can be air fried too.
You can also use Phylo dough cut in squares. They are easy to find in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores. They also produce a beautiful result worthy of Oscar night! Since you will be cutting squares, you can make them large or small.
Filler
You can use your favorite vegan cheese cubed or cream cheese like Tofutti and add green onions, fried mushrooms finely diced. You can make cream cheese from scratch too using firm tofu, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, caper brine, and seasonings.
Cooking methods
I have tested 3 methods.
1. Deep fried
This is how Chinese restaurants usually serve them (think crab Rangoon). But you must have the right temperature to quickly fry them. They will cook very quickly so make sure to watch them, and remove them as soon as they start to darken. This only takes 5-10 seconds because the bundles are small. Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
2. Baked and air-fried
With just a light spray of oil, the purses came out a little lighter color and very crisp.
To my great surprise, baking and air frying produced the best results! It only takes 8-10 minutes to get them just right!
You know what this means? No more deep frying, oil splattering on the stove, and the house smelling like a fast food chain! You can also gobble down more little bundles and not worry about your waste line!
Chinese restaurant serve them with sweet and sour sauce, but you can also use sweet chili sauce or any other favorite. Once you learn to make it from scratch you will never buy it again because many brands add high fructose corn syrup and other not so good ingredients.
TIP:
It is recommended to place the filled pouches on a lined tray and freeze them for 10-15 minutes before deep frying or baking. This will prevent any bursting or leakage from happening and ensure perfectly crispy bundles.
What if I don’t have any wonton wrappers?
You can use phyllo dough or even flour tortillas. They won’t look as pretty as tortillas tend to bubble when they are fried but they will taste just as good!
Can I make extra and freeze them?
Yes, that’s a great idea but you want to freeze them uncooked on a sheet. Once frozen, you can put them in a sealed bag. When you are ready, just bake or air fry them frozen.
You can also play with some variations for the filling like adding:
– Chopped sundried tomatoes and capers
– Finely chopped seaweed (for a crab like flavor)
– Mushrooms, truffle salt.
Garnishing
To add a touch of color and elegance, you can tie the bundles with long strips of green onions.ย Using a sharp knife or scissors, make long thin strips. Pour boiling water in a cup and steep the strips for a few minutes to tenderize them. Make a knot around the top of the bundles.
Let’s do this!
Golden Purses with Sweet and Sour sauce
Equipment
- Lined baking sheet
Ingredients
Wonton wraps
- 1 package Nasoya Vegan wonton wrap (or Phyllo dough)
Filling
- 1 cup vegan cream cheese (plain or herb)
- 8 oz firm organic tofu
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup tahini (sesame butter)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp caper brine and capers
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
- 3 tbsp finely chopped chives
Sweet and sour sauce
- 1 tbsp apple cider or rice vinegar
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp grated ginger (or ginger powder)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1-2 drops red dye (optional) (or 1 tsp of beet powder)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
Instructions
Make the filling
- Press the tofu i a clean kitchen towel to remove some of the liquid. Don't worry if you break it because you will be crumbling it.
- In a food processor, mix the tahini with the fresh lemon juice, caper brine.
- Add the tofu, olive oil, garlic powder, chopped chives, cayenne powder, and salt.
- Pulse until all is well combined.
- Taste and season. Set aside.
Make the sweet and sour sauce
- In a small pan combine 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (apple cider vinegar or lemon juice), 4 tablespoons of ketchup, 1/2 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (light preferably), and 1-2 drops of red food color if using.
- In a small bowl, dilute the cornstarch with water.
- Stir and bring the sauce to a boil. Incorporate the starch slurry and stir until it starts to thicken. Set aside to cool down.
Assemble the pouches
- Remove the wonton wraps from the fridge 30 minutes before starting.
- Cut the green part of 2 stalks of green onions. Slice in half. Bring some water to a boil and quickly blanch the green onion strips to soften them. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and set aside.
- Delicately peel off several wraps and place them on a clean lined baking sheet.
- Pour a cup water in a small bowl
- Dip your index in water and draw a circle on the edge. This will help seal the purses.
- Place the wrapper on top of your thumb touching your index. Place a spoon of filler and quickly fold first in half, then on both sides and again in the small folds. Dip your fingers again to seal the top gently. You can use 2 chopsticks to crimp it.
- Wrap a thin strip of green onion as a tie.
- Place each purse on a lined baking sheet and freeze for 10-15 minutes.
Cooking
- If you are deep frying heat up enough oil to submerge a few at a time.
- If you are air frying the purses, place them on your tray or basket after brushing or spraying a little oil on each. Fry at 375F for 8-10 minutes. Watch the last few minutes to make sure they don't burn.
- If you are baking them, spray each purse with a little oil and bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes until golden. Watch them to make sure they don't burn.
Use a thin strip of green onion quickly blanched to soften, and make a tie for
