(or won ton) the Anglicized form of two Chinese words meaning a small ‘dumpling’ or roll consisting of a wonton wrapper (made from the same dough as egg noodle) with a savoury filling, especially of minced pork with seasonings. Sweet wontons, e.g. with a date and walnut filling, also exist.
Wontons may be steamed or pan fried or deep-fried; and are often served in soups, or as items in dim sum. One variation is to have open-faced steamed wontons, shaped to have a flat bottom so that they will stand upright; these are shao mai.
See mantou for a survey of the whole range of similar items which are found from China in the east to Turkey and Russia in the west. See also jiaozi, dumplings of the same sort but with thicker wrappers.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
