By Case D. Fischer

I thought it would be fun to start off the New Year with something a little adventurous, so I looked at our product line for inspiration. A new product in our Mom’s line is General Tso’s Meal Starter – you know that old favorite at the Chinese Restaurant, General Tso’s Chicken? Well, this product is the sauce you need to bring that favorite international meal right into your own kitchen.

As some of you know, when we develop new products, one of our jobs is to come up with recipes on how to use them. We do that in house with our own team, from Ashley who heads up our product development, to Leo who takes all of our food photography among other creative things, as well as our team members in the retail stores and the cooking school. In fact, almost everyone who works at Fischer & Wieser likes to cook – some cook simply and some like to do things in more complicated ways, but they are all great at taking potential or new products home and coming up with ideas on how to use them. And those who don’t like to cook love to eat, so it’s a win-win. We also love to receive feedback and recipe ideas from our customers – it fuels our creativity and reminds us why we are in the business – to create flavorful experiences that make people happy!

One of our associates who lives in Houston recently tried the Mom’s General Tso’s Meal Starter Sauce and came up with a great recipe for Chicken Wontons. They are delicious and would make a fun meal for a stay at home movie night or a group cooking project with kids or grandkids – particularly the wonton folding part. The ingredients are easy enough to find at HEB so why not try it?

General Tso’s Fried Chicken Wontons

Ingredients:
Mom’s General Tso’s Meat Starter, set aside 1 tbsp
16 oz broccoli slaw mixture
3 skinless chicken breasts
1⁄4 cup rice vinegar
1⁄4 cup sesame oil
1⁄2 tbsp honey
1tsp ground garlic
 1 tsp ground ginger
1⁄2 tbsp brown sugar
1⁄2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 tsp sesame seeds
18-20 wonton wrappers (use more if needed)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
   
2. In a small bowl combine vinegar, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, sugar and 1 tbsp General Tso’s Meat Starter Sauce. * Add chicken breasts and toss to combine. Let marinate for 30-120. Place chicken on a large baking sheet and bake until golden and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, (about 17-18 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow 3-5 minutes before shredding with two forks (or with a knife).
   
3. In a large frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp neutral oil and 1 tbsp sesame oil. Add in broccoli slaw. Cook until slaw becomes soft (7-8 minutes), add in diced onions and cook for 2-3 more minutes until onions have caramelized. Pour in 1 cup of General Tso’s meat starter sauce and sesame seeds. Mix until fully incorporated.
   
4. Add shredded chicken into broccoli slaw mixture. Set aside.
   
5. Set up a working area to make the dumplings. In the center of the wontons add 1-2 tsp of chicken/slaw mix. Lightly brush the top and right side of the square wonton sheet with water (using your finger). Fold the wontons in half diagonally, sealing the edges and creating a triangle. Lightly brush the bottom of the wontons and fold them to make the two edges touch, pinch together, and seal with water to stay. Repeat until all of the chicken/slaw mixture is finished.
   
6. Place into air fryer for 5-6 minutes on 380 degrees F**
   
7. Serve with more General Tso’s Sauce.

*If using pre-shredded chicken, skip to step 3.
**If using the traditional frying method, heat up oil for deep frying. Once oil has fully heated, deep fry the wontons until golden brown. Drain the excess oil with paper towels.